The Japan Social Development Fund (JSDF) gave $3-million grant to a project improving the income and livelihood of 6,000 garbage workers in five cities and municipalities that are modernizing their solid waste management systems.
World Bank country director Motoo Konishi said the grant “will help address the impact of the implementation of the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act,” which may affect the livelihood of informal garbage pickers and itinerant waste buyers.
The Ecological Solid Waste Management Act requires local government units to modernize their solid garbage collection and convert open dumpsites to sanitary landfills.
The project, “Social Inclusion and Alternative Livelihoods for the Informal Waste Sector,” will be executed by the Solid Waste Management Association of the Philippines (SWAPP), a non-profit organization of solid waste management practitioners.
According to SWAPP executive vice president Grace P Sapuay, the project will “[help] LGUs, communities, and the private sector improve their capability to manage solid waste problems in their respective areas through research, training, technical assistance, information exchange, and network building.”
Aid will also be extended to informal waste sector participants that participate in existing recycling cooperatives in Metro Manila.
“This partnership with the World Bank and JSDF will greatly boost our programs while helping the less fortunate,” Sapuay said.
The JSDF is administered by the World Bank, and backs development projects for poor and vulnerable groups in developing countries.
