The organisation
WASTE advises in sustainable improvement of the urban environment. The focus of activities is on low-income urban areas in order to develop, together with local residents, tools and means for their own development, enabling them to improve their living conditions, the environment and to create employment as a sound economic base for their future. Another important focal point for WASTE the role of small-scale entrepreneurs and their (potential) contribution to the provision of urban services and their integration in the municipal services e.g. in resource recovery and the removal of urban waste.
Fields of work
WASTE is active in four fields:
- Solid waste management and resource recovery
- Low-cost sanitation and liquid waste management
- Community based environmental improvement
- Micro- and small enterprise development
Expertise and knowledge sharing
WASTE has a multi-disciplinary consultancy team of experts on urban environment, solid waste management, urban planning, sanitation and environmental economy based in Gouda, the Netherlands. WASTE promotes knowledge sharing and makes its ownepxeriences and accumulated knowledge available through publications and Internet.
Development goals
WASTE considers community participation to be both an aim of development and a tool for achieving the objectives of development projects. All projects should contribute to the aim that men and women, disadvantaged groups and communities, are able to decisively influence the events that affect their lives.
Local co-operation
WASTE carries out assignments in close co-operation with its local partners. Through short-term inputs, regular support is given to local organisations, which run their projects and are ultimately responsible for them. Meetings are held, and training, planning and management support is given to strengthen local efforts and the projects' sustainability. WASTE actively involves local institutions, private entrepreneurs, NGOs and public government departments to build up a framework in support of the project.
Alliances
WASTE is part of an alliance (SURCO) with other multi-disciplinary organisations in the South which have gained their spurs in the field of waste management. The partners in SURCO work together in the identification, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of research and projects, and in the formulation of a vision and concepts for the urban environment.
The allies are:
- The Institute for the Development of Social Economy (IPES), Lima, Peru
- The Centre for Environmental Sanitation (ACEPESA), San José, Costa Rica,
- The Cabinet d'Etudes Keita - Kala Saba (CEK), Bamako, Mali
- The Centre for Advanced Philippine Studies (CAPS), Manila, the Philippines
- Mythri, Bangalore, India
- Institute for Environmental Management (IEM ), Varna, Bulgaria
WASTE as an idealistic organisation
WASTE is officially registered with a non-profit status. It has a special fund fed by the difference in the projects' income and the modest salaries paid to WASTE employees. This fund allows for own project development, small donations and occasional training to external persons. It also enables its personnel to dedicate a number or working days to voluntary community work.
