What Doesn't Belong Here?
Karen Hawes
Sorry for the extended delay since my last update. Internet access has
been somewhat of a challenge and there was the (pleasant) addition of
birthday-wishing traffic. Throw in a few power limitations and you get
an extended delay in updates!
Don’t forget to head to the website, for this week’s blog entry:
http://www.trashtrip.com/2011/what-doesnt-belong-here/
I’ve made a few structural changes to the website, so old links to
specific blog posts won’t work… sorry for any confusion!
I’ve been in Lethem, Guyana for over two weeks and have had the
fortune of visiting some remote areas here. I did not bring my
interviewing kit, so I have not done any interviews… well, I have not
recorded any. With what I have discussed, regarding waste management
here (and this is a loose use of that term), I have formed a few
thoughts, generating a few questions that I’d like to share.
What type of and how would you implement a waste-management program
for the following community profiles? You have two years in which to
implement your program too… starting with moving there and getting to
know the locals.
Community Profiles
--------------------------
Population: <500 inhabitants
Relative Isolation: Only accessible by airplane, on small grass runway
Power Supply: Some solar panels, not at all homes
Telephone Access: None, except satellite phone
Internet Access: None, except satellite router (ie.: slow and expensive)
Current Waste Management: Household burning in back yard
Population: 1,000-3,000 inhabitants
Relative Isolation: Accessible by airplane, on small paved runway, and
by road (two-day travel time, if the rivers are not too high)
Power Supply: Diesel-generated AC power to many homes and one or two
solar panels on most homes.
Telephone Access: Basic land-line network, not always reliable but
widely available and relatively expensive
Internet Access: Some but slow and extremely costly ($200 USD for 48 Kbps)
Current Waste Management: Household burning in back yard and community
dump, plus illegal dump sites.
Population: 3,000-200,000 inhabitants
Relative Isolation: Access to most modern modes of transport and even
international access on major airport runway
Power Supply: Diesel-generated AC with frequent power outages
Telephone Access: Standard-to-modern telephone availability, with some outages
Internet Access: High-speed (for a premium) and anything below, with
some outages
Current Waste Management: Community dump and city-wide collection
services; some household burning in back yard for areas not serviced
by garbage-collection services.
In case you were wondering, there is no recycling, few or no community
waste bins, and prolific littering.
Here are some very interesting references that were provided to me in
an interview last fall, which would apply nicely to answering these
questions:
Guidance Manual on Environmentally Sound Management of Waste
http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/23/31/39559085.pdf
Inventory of International Initiatives Related to Sustainable
Materials Management
http://www.oecd.org/officialdocuments/displaydocumentpdf?cote=ENV/EPOC/WGWPR(2007)4/FINAL&doclanguage=en
For those who are daring enough, I’d love to hear your thoughts!
K :)
