ABSTRACT
How do you manage a solid waste management system? Until the 1990s, the answer would have been framed around technology. But this does not allow us to answer many related questions (e.g. for whom is the waste managed; how can conflicting ideas and claims be dealt with; who is responsible for planning the system and creating it; who operates it; who maintains it; who pays for it; who uses it; and, above all, who owns it?). All of these questions can be addressed more easily within the framework of integrated sustainable waste management (ISWM). Integrated sustainable waste management is based on ‘good garbage governance’, and its goal includes inclusive, financially sustainable and institutionally responsive waste management, which functions well for users and providers.
