The governance of Household Hazardous Waste (HHW): A literature review of HHW-related regulation in Southeast Asian developing countries

Abstract

Growing cities of developing countries followed by human activities brings challenge on how to manage the massive solid waste production. Pile of solid waste in the collecting or dumping sites produce methane gas that threaten earths’ climate change, whereas leachate with organic, inorganic, and hazardous contaminants resulted in soil and groundwater pollution. Furthermore, untreated solid wastes are aesthetically disturbing and environmentally polluting as they enter the water bodies. More than 40% of the Municipal Solid Waste are generated by household activities and approximately 1% of it contains hazardous materials, such as heavy metals and inert materials. Unprocessed Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) carries substantial ecological impacts. However, issues on HHW considered to have less attention either by community or government due to the requirement of specific treatment and the cost of final disposal. The role of regulation or guidelines are critical to manage the HHW handling. This review aims to explore the availability of national as well as local regulation related to HHW management in Southeast Asian developing countries and to analyze the correlation between GNI level and the government concern on HHW issues. Despite the main solution, the availability of HHW regulation is required to govern the management and minimize the contamination to the environment. The analysis is based on literature from journals as well as official websites from each country which studied. The result of the study can give an alternate perspective on the governance of HHW in developing countries.