Participatory Methodologies for Self-Management of Waste: Case Study for the Reduction of Plastics in the Sahrawi Refugee Camps

Ester Guijarro,María Clavel,Álvaro Fernández-Baldor

doi:10.3390/su14042037

Abstract

According to the United Nations, if measures are not taken by 2050, there will be more plastic in the ocean than there are fish. This work addresses this issue by proposing an adaptation of the CLTS, a methodology used in sanitation to promote behavioural changes, to the waste management sector. The methodology is applied in the Sahrawi refugee camps through two phases: a first one in which the specific context is analysed to achieve a real diagnosis of the problem and a second phase in which the CLTS is adapted proposing the use of various participatory techniques in order to reduce the use of plastic bags. The analysis of the information collected in the first phase shows that plastic bags constitute the highest percentage of waste and that the best solution to reduce the consumption of plastic bags is by actively raising awareness among the community through training and talks. This justifies the second phase where a practical guide is provided on how Sahrawi people themselves can become aware of the problem and triggering the desire for change in the community. Thus, the philosophy of the methodology proposed here is that people are capable of self-organising and solving their own problems.

Highlights

According to the United Nations (UN) environmental commission, more than a million plastic bags are used every minute
The first section shows the results of the analysis and diagnosis phase, which will help to understand the current situation of waste management in the camps and the need to propose participatory methodologies to achieve self-management of waste
The second section addresses the proposal to adapt the Community-Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) methodology to the Saharawi context so that people themselves are aware of the problem of plastics and take measures to avoid it

Summary

Introduction

According to the United Nations (UN) environmental commission, more than a million plastic bags are used every minute. Single-use plastics have a useful life of between twelve and fifteen minutes; they can take up to a thousand years to break down into smaller fragments, known as microplastics [1]. The planet is on alert for this situation, because if measures are not taken between and 2050, there will be more plastics in the ocean than there are fish; estimates suggest that there are over 150 million tonnes of plastics in the ocean today. In a business-as-usual scenario, the ocean is expected to contain. 1 tonne of plastic for every 3 tonnes of fish by 2025, and by 2050, it will contain more plastics than it does fish (by weight) [2].

Objectives

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion