Constraints for solid waste management in Somaliland

Knowledge about appropriate technology for solid waste management in low-income countries is usually poor. The solutions proposed are often a mere copy of technical devices adopted in developed countries and they are not selected on the basis of the actual context of where they are going to be used. This leads to unsuccessful projects, whose causes and effects on the population and the environment are seldom discussed in the scientific literature. This paper intends to contribute to filling that gap through detailed analysis of the difficulties and challenges encountered for the improvement of waste collection, recycling and disposal in five of the main cities in Somaliland. Practical constraints identified in the field include lack of machinery and technology, problems in operation of the facilities, lack of knowledge and awareness, difficulties in collaboration with local stakeholders, lack of supervision, issues of land ownership and availability, and lack of specific policies. The causes leading to those constraints were also studied and were classified into five categories – reasons dependent on the local context, technical issues, educational issues, institutional issues and reasons dealing with broader problems in the cooperation sector.