Author(s)

GHULAM SARWAR SANDHU, MALIK ASGHAR NAEEM

Abstract

This paper deliberates on an innovation in the field of municipal solid waste management being practiced in a housing scheme developed and maintained by private sector in the capital city of Islamabad, Pakistan. The purpose of this case study is to know about the initiation of the unusual social business in the area of municipal solid waste management, challenges faced in establishing the business, and how it emerged as a successful model. This study also assesses the efficiency and effectiveness of this model of municipal waste management. A household survey has been conducted in the project area to know about the satisfaction of the users and their views about the location of waste compost facility established in the area. Moreover, in-depth interviews have been conducted with the management society of the area working under the private sector that developed the housing scheme, to ascertain the effectiveness and efficiency of the current solid waste management system. The innovative social enterprise has been found successful. A proactive role of local as well as of international NGOs is highly appreciable in providing seed funding and extending technical assistance in making the initiative a success story. The social enterprise has brought about improvement in waste collection, transportation, and recovery of recyclables and waste reduction measures through waste composting. The success story of the unusual social enterprise has convinced the regulatory authorities of capital city to replicate the same model in other residential and commercial areas of the city.

Keywords

business unusual, efficient municipal waste management, social enterprise, waste recycling, NGOs, waste reduction strategy, integrated resource recovery centre (IRRC), zone 2, Islamabad