The international organization hosted guests in Japan to examine that nation’s municipal waste and recycling system and infrastructure.
By Brian Taylor, Senior Editor
The Washington-based World Bank Group hosted waste management administrators from several nations with developing economies in Japan this May to explore how that nation deploys its resources to collect and handle discarded materials.
“Many lower-income countries are working to establish the foundations of effective municipal waste management systems while responding to rapid population growth, fast paced urbanization and increasing environmental pollutions,” says the World Bank.
The World Bank Group says its Tokyo Development Learning Center (TDLC) convened government officials, waste management practitioners and World Bank Group teams in late May for a Technical Deep Dive (TDD) on Building Robust Solid Waste Management Systems for a Circular Economy in Lower-Income Countries.
The week-long program brought together participants from Chad, Ghana, Nepal, Senegal, Somalia, Tanzania, Vietnam and the West Bank and Gaza “to explore practical solutions for strengthening waste management systems and turning policy ambitions into implementation,” says the World Bank.
The program consisted of technical sessions, peer exchanges, and field visits in different parts of Japan. During the week, “Participants examined how cities can improve waste management service delivery, strengthen institutions, finance waste systems sustainably and gradually advance toward circular economy models,” says the organization.
A central feature of the program was learning from Japan’s long-term experience in building effective waste management systems through what the World Bank calls strong governance, citizen participation and continuous sustained efforts to advance recycling and circularity.
Numerous Japanese cities hosted the World Bank delegates, with site visits held at a waste-to-energy (WTE) facility, a community “clean center” that diverts food scraps and a town “known for achieving one of Japan’s highest recycling rates.”
States the World Bank, “In Kamakura City, participants witnessed first-hand how municipalities, universities, businesses, financial institutions and citizens are working together to advance a circular economy.” Kamakura City is located about 35 miles south of Tokyo.
Technical sessions focused on approaches to addressing waste- and recycling-related challenges, including behavior change and cost recovery mechanisms, says the World Bank.
The TDD was designed in part to provide global expertise, Japanese experience and peer-to-peer learning opportunities, says the World Bank, providing participants with “practical knowledge and actionable ideas to strengthen solid waste management systems” after participants return to their countries.
“In Chad, waste is simply thrown into the river valleys and in public places,” says Adam Yaya Abdel Mahamoud from that nation. “The week-long lessons learned in Tokyo directly align with the president’s [new] policy.”