The Ministry of the Environment earlier this week launched a series of 5 workshops with the authorities of the different Communes of the metropolitan area, around waste management, as part of an inter-municipal approach.

In addition to the mayors, this first workshop chaired by Astrel Joseph, the Director General of the Ministry of the Environment, brought together representatives of the National Service for the Management of Solid Residues (SNGRS), those of Electricity of Haiti (ED'H), Executives from the Ministry of the Interior, officials from the Ministry of Public Works as well as representatives of technical and financial partners.

In his opening remarks, Astrel Joseph made a grim observation of the overpopulated metropolitan zone, which with 27,395 inhabitants per km2 alone generates 2,450 metric tonnes of waste per day (nearly 900,000 tonnes per year).

He pointed out that only 37% of this waste is collected every day while 1,500 tons clutter the streets and sewers and are responsible for flooding during heavy rains.

In addition, he recalled that the upstream communes such as Pétion-ville and Port-au-Prince, which are richer in fiscal matters, are linked to the poorer communes downstream, such as Tabarre and Cité Soleil by a network of gullies which discharge water into them, sludge-laden water. Faced with this situation, he indicated that the Ministry is convinced that an inter-municipal approach could help improve waste management in the metropolitan region, specifying that this approach will be based on awareness-raising and accountability of stakeholders, the pooling of certain resources, the recovery of solid waste and finally the creation of an inter-municipal fund.

See also :

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-26381-haiti-environment-nearly-3-000-tons-of-waste-a-day-threaten-the-metropolitan-region.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-19473-haiti-environment-symposium-to-eliminate-garbage-from-port-au-prince.html

HL/ HaitiLibre