Regional Evaluation Municipal Solid Waste Management Services. Country Analytical Report, Suriname. Evaluation 2002

Abstract

[Executive Summary] This Analytical Country Report on Solid Waste Management in Suriname represents the main findings of the Evaluation of the Solid Waste Management Services 2002 for Suriname. It has been prepared in a joint effort of PAHO Suriname and representatives of government agencies with responsibilities for solid waste management, who all participated in the National Coordinating Group. Most information on solid waste management was provided by personal communication with stakeholders, because of the limited availability of reports on the actual situation. The system for solid waste management in Suriname has not changed considerably during the past decades. The poor economic performance of the country since the 1980s has had a considerable impact on the government institutions, including the solid waste institutions. Solid waste management activities are best developed in Greater Paramaribo. The organization for solid waste management in the districts is strongly centralized and most activities are to a great extent arranged from Paramaribo. Solid waste management currently has a low priority at the policy level and is not included in the Medium Term Development Plan for the current period. The solid waste services and solid waste linked activities in Suriname are the responsibility of several government agencies, and tasks are divided over different ministries. Planning, management and control, and financing of the services are often executed by different sections of a ministry. Much of the mechanical work of solid waste management, including special services, is contracted out. The National Coordinating Group has distinguished a large number of serious and very serious limitations in every aspect of the solid waste system. At this moment there is no strategy towards the arrangement of a solid waste sector in which all levels of management are incorporated under one umbrella. Also there is no strategy with respect to waste minimization, community participation or other new approaches, which may improve the solid waste management.