Regional Data

Inception Report

The solid waste situation in the region

Over 50 percent of the region's 160 million inhabitants live in urban areas that already have difficulty meeting the basic service needs of their population - and their populations are growing rapidly.

Across the region, countries spent an estimated $US 325 - 400 million in 2000 on solid waste management.  Increasing waste generation is a guarantee that this amount will increase in future.

Analysis in 2000 indicated that the 1998 - 2010 period could see an increase of 44 percent in the amount of waste generated in the region.

Generally across the region, the solid waste management sector is inadequately structured and regulated, resulting in service inequalities, risks to public health and threats to environmental resources.