We developed the Integrated Sustainable Waste Management (ISWM) approach in 1993, as a tool to understand the existing and necessary ‘who’, ‘how’ and ‘what’ elements are present and needed in a given [waste management] system.
The ISWM approach helps to analyse three important dimensions, which were rarely considered at the time.
- Who are the current stakeholders that are present? Who are the key stakeholders that must be engaged?
- How are the service and value chains of the current system working? How could these be strengthened?
- What is the current status of critical enabling aspects: Technical, environmental, health, financial, economic, socio-cultural, institutional, legal and political? How can these be enhanced?
We work on understanding each of these dimensions and how they relate to each other to identify solutions. We work to improve the sustainability of local systems by addressing the root of a problem rather than symptoms.