Definition:

SDG 11.6 targets an improved environmental performance of cities and SDG indicator 11.6.1 measures the progress of the performance of a city’s municipal solid waste management. It quantifies the parameters listed below, which are essential for planning and implementing sustainable Municipal Solid Waste (MSW). In most cases, these variables are generally compatible with those collected through the United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD)/United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Questionnaire on Environment Statistics (waste section).

Total MSW generated in the city (tonnes/day)
Total MSW collected in the city (tonnes/day)
Proportion of population with access to basic MSW collection services in the city (%)
Total MSW managed in controlled facilities in the city (tonnes/day)
MSW composition

It is important to realize that part (b) total MSW collected in the city and (c) proportion of population with access to basic MSW collection services in the city are two different concepts. While part (b) refers to amounts of waste reaching waste management facilities, part (c) considers the population who receive waste collection services. In some cities it is common to dump waste ‘collected’ from households into the surrounding areas instead of transporting it to a disposal or recovery facility. In this case the household has waste collection services, but the collected waste is polluting the environment. Therefore, it is possible that a city has a high proportion of population with access to basic waste collection services, but the amount of MSW collected and transported to waste management facilities is low.

Although part (c) is covered by SDG 1 (“End poverty in all its forms everywhere”), under target 1.4 and SDG indicator 1.4.1 which focuses on universal access to basic services, with a particular emphasis on poor and vulnerable groups, this document provides guidelines, quality ladders and household questionnaires to measure the proportion of the population with access to ‘basic’ MSW collection services. The household questionnaire can be integrated into the national census or global household survey mechanism such as Demographic and Health Survey or UNICEF’s Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys. Due to the lack of standardized concepts and definitions that differentiate these two concepts, many cities report the proportion of collected MSW in their own terms. Therefore, this metadata distinguishes clearly between part (b) and (c) and offers introduction to the approaches to monitor and report on part (c).

Concepts:

Municipal Solid Waste (MSW): MSW includes waste generated from: households, commerce and trade, small businesses, office buildings and institutions (schools, hospitals, government buildings). It also includes bulky waste (e.g. white goods, old furniture, mattresses) and waste from selected municipal services, e.g. waste from park and garden maintenance, waste from street cleaning services (street sweepings, the content of litter containers, market cleansing waste), if managed as waste. The definition excludes waste from municipal sewage network and treatment, municipal construction and demolition waste.

Generation: Total MSW generated is the sum of the amount of municipal waste collected plus the estimated amount of municipal waste from areas not served by a municipal waste collection service.

Collection: Total MSW collected refers to the amount of municipal waste collected by or on behalf of municipalities, as well as municipal waste collected by the private sector. It includes mixed waste, and fractions collected separately for recovery operations (through door-to-door collection and/or through voluntary deposits).

A diagram of a recycling process AI-generated content may be incorrect.

Figure 1: What MSW collected means for SDG indicator 11.6.1

The proportion of the population with access to basic MSW collection services is the proportion of the population who receive waste collection services that are either basic, improved or full, defined by the service ladder of MSW collection service. It considers aspects of frequency, regularity and proximity of the collection points (

Table 1). This aspect is measured under the SDG indicator 11.6.1 assessment but it is reported through a different indicator, SDG 1.4.1 on access to basic services.

Table 1: Ladder of MSW collection service that household receives

SERVICE LEVEL	DEFINITION
Full	Receiving door-to-door MSW collection service with basic frequency and regularity and MSW is collected in three or more separate fractions; or Having a designated collection point within 200m distance served with basic frequency and regularity and without major littering and MSW is collected in three or more separate fractions
Improved	Receiving door-to-door MSW collection service with basic frequency and regularity and MSW is collected in a minimum of two, separate fractions (e.g. wet and dry fractions) Having a designated collection point within 200m distance served with basic frequency and regularity and without major littering and MSW is collected in a minimum of two, separate fractions (e.g. wet and dry fractions)
Basic	Receiving door-to-door MSW collection service with basic frequency and regularity or Having designated collection point within 200m distance served with basic frequency and regularity
Limited	Receiving door-to-door MSW collection service without basic frequency and regularity; Having a designated collection point within 200m distance but not served with basic frequency and regularity; or Having designated collection point in further than 200 m distance
No	Receiving no waste collection service
Note: Basic frequency and regularity: served at least once a week for one year

Recovery: Recovery means any operation the principal result of which is waste serving a useful purpose by replacing other materials which would otherwise have been used to fulfil a particular function, or waste being prepared to fulfil that function, in the plant or in the wider economy.

Recovery facilities include any facility with recovery activities defined above including recycling, composting, incineration with energy recovery, materials recovery facilities (MRF), mechanical biological treatment (MBT), etc.

Materials recovery facilities (MRF) or materials reclamation facility, materials recycling facility, multi re-use facility is a specialized recovery facility that receives, separates and prepares recyclable materials for marketing to further processors or end-user manufacturers.

Mechanical biological treatment (MBT) facilities are a type of recovery facility that combines an MRF with a form of biological treatment such as composting or anaerobic digestion.

Incineration is the controlled combustion of waste with or without energy recovery.

Incineration with energy recovery is the controlled combustion of waste with energy recovery.

Recycling is defined under the UNSD/UNEP Questionnaire and further for the purpose of these indicators as “Any reprocessing of waste material in a production process that diverts it from the waste stream, except reuse as fuel. Both reprocessing as the same type of product, and for different purposes should be included. Recycling within industrial plants i.e., at the place of generation should be excluded”. For the purpose of consistency with the Basel Convention reporting and correspondence with EUROSTAT reporting system, Recovery operations R2 to R12 listed in Basel Convention Annex IV, are to be considered as “Recycling” under the UNSD reporting for hazardous waste.

Recycling value chain usually involves several steps of the private recycling industry, which purchase, process and trade materials from the point a recyclable material is extracted from the waste stream until it will be reprocessed into products, materials or substances that have market value. In many low and low-to-middle income countries, this involves informal waste pickers, many middlemen, traders, apex traders and end-of-chain recyclers.

Apex traders collect recyclable materials from different sources and suppliers (in different cities across municipal or even national boundaries) and supply them to different end-of-chain recyclers (sometimes after pre-processing such as sorting, washing and bailing).

End-of-chain recyclers purchase recyclable material from suppliers such as apex traders and reprocess it into products, materials, or substances that have market value.

A collection of pictograms of different types of garbage AI-generated content may be incorrect.

Figure 2: Complexity in the recovery chain (plastic example)

Disposal: Disposal means any operation whose main purpose is not the recovery of materials or energy even if the operation has as a secondary consequence the reclamation of substances or energy.

Disposal facilities refer to sites, which are regularly used by the public authorities and private collectors, regardless of their level of control and legality, to dispose of waste. Such sites may or may not have an official recognition, a permit or a license. Disposal sites may be managed in either a controlled or uncontrolled manner. The definition excludes other unrecognized places where waste is deposited occasionally in small amounts which public authorities may organise clean ups to remove the waste from these sites.

Landfill is the deposit of waste into or onto land. It includes specially engineered landfill sites and temporary storage of over one year on permanent sites. The definition covers both landfills at internal sites, i.e. where a generator of waste is carrying out its own waste disposal at the place of generation, and at external sites.

Control level of MSW recovery and disposal facilities: MSW managed in controlled facilities refers to MSW collected and transported to recovery and disposal facilities with basic, improved or full control according to the ladder of waste management facilities’ control level (Table 2: Ladder of waste management facilities’ control level.). The ladder can be used as a checklist for assessing the level of control of a particular recovery or disposal facility. The facility has the level of control, where it checks the most boxes. Note that the emphasis is on operational control rather than engineering/design. A facility that is constructed to a high standard, but not operated in compliance with Level 3 (or above) standard is not regarded as a controlled facility.

Table 2: Ladder of waste management facilities’ control level.

CONTROL LEVEL	Landfill site	Incineration with energy recovery	Other recovery facilities
Full Control	Waste daily covered Waste compacted Site fenced and full 24-hour control of access Properly sited, designed and functional sanitary landfill Leachate containment and treatment (naturally consolidated clay on the site or constructed liner) Landfill gas collection and flaring and/or utilization Site staffed Post closure plan Weighing and recording conducted Protection of workers’ health and safety	Built to and operating in compliance with current national laws and standards including stringent stack and greenhouse gas emission criteria Emission controls are conducted compliant to environmental standards and results of tests are accessible and transparent to citizens/users Fly ash managed as a hazardous waste using the best appropriate technology Weighing and recording conducted A strong and robust environmental regulator inspects and monitors emissions Protection of workers’ health and safety	Built to and operating in compliance with current national laws and standards Pollution control compliant to environmental standards Protection of workers’ health and safety The nutrient value of biologically treated materials utilized for separate organic waste (e.g. in agriculture/horticulture) Materials are extracted, processed according to market specifications, and sold to recycling markets Weighing and recording of incoming loads conducted All outgoing loads registered by weight and type of destination
Improved Control	Waste periodically covered Waste compacted Site fenced and control of access Leachate containment and treatment Landfill gas collection (depending on landfill technology) Site staffed Weighing and recording conducted Provisions made for workers’ health and safety	Not applicable	Engineered facilities with effective process control Pollution control compliant to environmental standards Protection of workers’ health and safety Evidence of materials extracted being delivered into recycling or recovery markets Weighing and recording of incoming and outgoing loads conducted
Basic Control	Some use of cover Waste compacted Sufficient equipment for compaction Site fenced and control of access No fire/smoke existence Site staffed Weighing and recording conducted The slope of the landfill is stable, landslides not possible Provisions made for workers’ health and safety	Emission controls to capture particulates Trained staff follow set operating procedures Equipment maintained Ash management carried out Weighing and recording conducted Provisions made for workers’ health and safety	Registered facilities with marked boundaries Some environmental pollution control Provisions made for workers’ health and safety Weighing and recording of incoming and outgoing loads conducted
Limited Control	No cover Some compaction Some equipment for compaction Some level of access control/fencing No leachate control Some fire/smoke existence Site staffed Weighing and recording conducted The slope of the landfill is unstable with high possibility of a landslide	Not applicable	Unregistered facilities with distinguishable boundaries No environmental pollution control No provisions made for workers’ health and safety Weighing and recording conducted
No Control	No cover No compaction No/limited equipment No fencing No leachate control Fire/smoke existence No staff The slope of the landfill is unstable with high possibility of a landslide	Uncontrolled burning No air/water pollution control	Unregistered locations with no distinguishable boundaries No provisions made for workers’ health and safety No environmental pollution control

Formality of Municipal Solid Waste Management (MSWM): The formality of MSWM activities is an important aspect to take into consideration when conducting the SDG indicator 11.6.1 assessment. MSWM activities are carried out by formal and informal economic units, both public and private, and by generators for the purpose of prevention, collection, transportation, treatment and disposal of waste.

Formal waste management relates to waste management activities undertaken by units working within the context of the formal governmental or non-state actors regulating and operating waste management; that is, organisations or individuals registered as economic units with government authorities and assumed to generally abide by local laws and regulations related to wastes and their management.

Informal waste management, recycling and recovery refers to waste management and recovery activities undertaken by individuals, economic units, or enterprises which are not sponsored, financed, recognised, supported, organised or acknowledged by the formal solid waste authorities, or which operate in violation of or in competition with formal authorities (Scheinberg et al., 2010). Informal units are assumed to abide by local waste-related laws and regulations when it is in their interests to do so.

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