By Marvin Cato |HGP Nightly News|
GEORGETOWN, GUYANA — As Guyana’s breakneck economic expansion places mounting pressure on the country’s public infrastructure, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has thrown its institutional weight behind a nationwide push to fundamentally overhaul the country’s waste management systems. UN officials warn that the current trajectory of rapid commercial and population growth can no longer treat municipal and industrial waste as an afterthought if the country is to achieve true environmental sustainability.
The call to action took center stage at a national consultation workshop held at the World Trade Centre in Georgetown. Focused on drafting a comprehensive National Solid Waste Management Strategic Plan, the forum brought together a diverse cross-section of stakeholders—including representatives from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Solid Waste Management Authority, regional Neighbourhood Democratic Councils (NDCs), municipalities, civil society groups, and private sector operators.
Addressing the assembly, UNDP Resident Representative Kathy Thompson emphasized that the compounding pressures generated by expanding real estate, manufacturing, and oil and gas operations demand forward-looking, data-driven planning rather than reactive disposal methods.
“Today’s workshop is really part of a vital process to strengthen how the Government of Guyana, and communities and institutions of Guyana, plan, govern, and improve solid waste management in the years ahead,” Thompson stated. “This collective work matters because we’re responding to the growing pressures and the changing pressures on the existing waste management systems… We’re going to address issues around data and obtaining data so that we can improve the planning process.”
Thompson stressed that modern waste management extends far beyond the basic collection and dumping of garbage. Instead, it requires a robust, systemic approach that seamlessly integrates modern regulations, advanced physical infrastructure, long-term financing models, inter-institutional coordination, and a drastic increase in public awareness.
Technical overviews presented during the consultation underscore the sheer scale of the emerging challenge. According to baseline data, Guyana generates roughly half a million tons of municipal solid waste annually, with hazardous waste accounting for an additional third of that volume. When industrial waste streams from the mining, agricultural, and tech sectors are factored in, total annual waste volumes are projected to rise exponentially over the next decade.
The UNDP strategy is designed to directly complement the government’s legislative push, specifically aligning with the landmark Integrated Solid Waste Management Bill. Promoted heavily by the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development under Minister Priya Manickchand, the draft legislation represents a decisive shift from a linear “use and dispose” culture toward a circular economy model. The proposed law introduces strict penalties—exceeding G$2 million and up to three years’ imprisonment for serious illegal dumping violations—alongside rigorous frameworks for waste segregation, electronic waste handling, and Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR).
By establishing a unified roadmap, the strategic plan aims to clearly define regional institutional budgets, expand engineered landfills across all ten administrative regions by 2030, and explore sustainable resource recovery models, such as waste-to-energy and waste-to-fertilizer technologies. UN and local officials agree that securing widespread community participation and robust data tracking will be the ultimate anchors ensuring the long-term viability of Guyana’s green transformation.
