GEO Haiti 2010

GEO HAITI • 2010
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treatment of run-off and wastewater, as well as of
solid waste and excreta (UNICEF, 2008).
Sanitation is therefore essential to public health and
in the struggle against a large number of diseases
attributable to an unhealthy environment. It
ensures the disposal and treatment of wastewater
and excreta, thereby reducing environmental and
health hazards.
Public and private sanitation in Haiti is generally
inadequate, and the development strategies,
adopted by the Haitian governments in the 70’s
and 80’s, have not successfully improved the
standard of living (UniQ and CHSRH, 2000). On
the contrary, in the early 1990’s, the economic
slump and widespread poverty resulted in a
degraded environment and the poor provision
of basic services in water and sanitation.
Furthermore, with globalisation, Haiti now
consumes a surprising amount of imported
products contributing to an unprecedented
proliferation of waste which adds up to the
diverse sanitation and environmental problems
the country was already facing.
8.3.1 Waste
a) Types of Waste
In industrialised countries, waste is generally
classified empirically on the basis of five main
complementary approaches (Mehu and Grelier-
Volatier):
1) Dangerous or presumed harmless (hazardous,
toxic, non-hazardous, inert waste etc.);
2) Source (by sector or industrial activity, sole
generating operation, associated product).
Categories include:
• Household waste
• Municipal waste
• Medical waste
• Industrial waste
• Agricultural waste
3) Characteristics (inflammable, fermentable etc.)
often associated with one or more possible
sub-types;
• Organic waste
• Inorganic waste
4) Nature or content (plastics, arseniccontaminated
waste, paint waste etc.);
5) Regarding consumer goods, the purpose of
the product before the “end of its useful life”
(batteries, solvents, packaging).
Developing countries, including Haiti, tend to
produce little industrial waste and the other
types of waste are composed at least by 70% of
organic materials.
b) Solid Waste Disposal
Around 3,500 m³ of household waste is generated
per day in Port-au-Prince and 600 m³ per day in the
other eight large towns: Cap-Haïtien, Gonaïves,
Les Cayes, Saint-Marc, Verrettes, Jeremie, Port-de-
Paix and Limbe 57 (Thonart et al. 2002).
Although attitudes seemed to be evolving, the
general public does not seem to consider waste
collection and its effective, environmentallyfriendly
treatment as a hygienic, environmental
and socio-cultural necessity. As a result, waste
management is still in its early stages and
everything remains to be done. In 1998, Jean-
Marie Binette stated that “30 to 50% of the
capital’s waste is collected and sent to the only
exiting landfill, Truitier”, and the “50 to 70% which
is not collected is dumped into sewers, gullies or
on street corners or simply burnt in the streets
and in unregulated dumps.” According to the
Ministry of Environment, only 35% of urban waste
is systematically collected (MDE, 1998). In 2005, it
increased to 42% in Port-au-Prince. According to a
study done by Willerval in 2006, in the secondary
cities, only 39% of the waste is disposed of.
In Haiti’s cities, waste management is essentially
carried out by the State through City Councils or
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