Marshall Islands : Ebeye Solid Waste Management Project

Water and other urban infrastructure and services / Urban policy, institutional and capacity development - Urban solid waste management

The RMI in the northern Pacific Ocean comprises 29 coral atolls and five coral islands with a population of about 53,000. It is highly vulnerable to natural hazards and climate change impacts. The RMI is classified as one of the fragile and conflict-affected areas. Unemployment is high and human development indicators are generally low. It is heavily dependent on external assistance, annual grants averaging about 60% of gross domestic product, mostly from the United States (US). Marshallese citizens can live and work in the US without a visa under the RMI's Compact of Free Association with the US and a significant portion of working age population leave RMI to pursue opportunities in the US. As a result, the RMI has a younger population compared to the rest of the Pacific. Ebeye on Kwajalein Atoll is the second largest urban center in the RMI and one of the most densely populated places in the world, with about 10,000 people living in an area of 31 hectares (over 33,000 people per square kilometer). With substantial migration to the US, the population in Ebeye has moderately increased at a rate of 0.4% per annum between 1999 and 2011. There is no airport on the island and most visitors access Ebeye through the US Army Garrison Kwajalein Atoll. The US base is the major employer of the Ebeye residents as employment opportunities on Ebeye are very limited due to the lack of any industry. High population density entails urban and social challenges. With ADB's ongoing support, residents in Ebeye are receiving improved water supply and sanitation services. However, the municipal solid waste management (SWM) remains one of the most serious challenges.

Waste generation and collection. With financial support from donors, Kwajalein Atoll Local Government (KALG) has been managing to provide basic municipal solid waste collection services to its residents. Solid waste is collected six days a week, varying on areas and days of the week. At least one garbage bin is provided to each household and waste from a household is collected two to three times a week. The solid waste collected is a mixture of food and organic waste, plastic, paper, metal, diapers, textile, and other waste. KALG collects about 811 tons per day of municipal solid waste (household, commercial, and office), or between 0.8 and 1.1 kilograms per person, and transports them to the only dump site on the island without charging any fee to the users. The majority of generated waste (90%) is collected and dumped into the dump site by KALG and only a small portion is reused as feeds for livestock or firewood. The Ebeye government supports KALG to develop a SWM tariff framework to collect fees for SWM.

Dump site and equipment. The only dump site has an area of 1.6 hectares in the north end of the island, which is about 5% area of Ebeye. It was operated by KALG since 2005. However, collected waste is dumped randomly inside the site without any compacting. It became one of prime locations of mosquito breeding and led to the major outbreak of dengue fever in 2019. The dump site is an environmental nuisance to the surrounding residents and leachate from waste pollutes Ebeye's lagoon environment. it is in danger of sea water inundation due to sea-level rise resulting from climate change. The dumpsite needs to be upgraded to a proper sanitary landfill and maximize its life. Waste collection and management vehicles and equipment operated by KALG are inadequate, severely damaged, and often not functional. The short operating lifetime of such equipment is due to Ebeye's harsh marine environment and lack of adequate and timely maintenance. Unavailability of replacement parts for existing equipment exacerbates the problem. KALG needs to develop and implement asset management with sufficient financing to maintain the equipment service.

Recycling in Ebeye and solid waste management Plan. The government of RMI is conducting some practice of recycling, namely a Container Disposal Legislation (CDL) system. It started in Majuro, RMI's capital city in 2018. KALG is required to implement CDL in Ebeye. The necessary law and regulations are already in place. However, the CDL is not fully operational. Final steps, such as refunding arrangements, procurement of balers, provision of training to key officials, and awareness raising among citizens, are ready. In response to SWM issues in Ebeye, KALG approved the Kwajalein Atoll SWM Plan in 2018 (footnote 5), which includes an action plan of four major actions in five-year period (2019 to 2023) as: (i) enhancing waste reduction and recycling through the Container Disposal Legislation (CDL) system; (ii) managing and improving the current final disposal dump site; (iii) sustaining the operation and maintenance (O&M) of waste collection services; and (iv) improving financial sustainability of SWM services. These actions require substantial investment. Further, given the scarcity of land available for a new landfill site, KALG should take options to reduce the waste volume, extend the lifetime of the existing dump site and achieve sustainable and effective SWM.

Medical waste management. Ebeye Hospital is only one hospital in Ebeye, which has 45 beds with 80 staff members, serving the population of the Kwajalein Atoll. In 2014, the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) conducted a detailed study on medical waste management in the hospital, and the result showed the existing system failed to meet seven of the eleven evaluation areas. In areas such as having a waste management policy or a training plan for the staff, the hospital did not meet the minimum standards. As part of the improvement approach, in 2019, the Ebeye Hospital entered a contract with a private contractor for management and processing of its medical waste. While the medical waste is currently segregated and incinerated by the contractor, safety standards are not adequate for the handling and transportation of medical waste. The incinerator used by the contractor has limited capacity and only performs to low environmental standards. Assistance is needed to reduce environmental and health hazard of the medial waste.

COVID-19 outbreak and impact. As of August 2020, RMI has no reported COVID-19 cases, which is attributable to the isolated location and government's early decision to close the border. However, once the country reopens, RMI will be at risk of the rapid spread of COVID-19 infections. RMI has already received a large amount of PPE and medial goods for precautions and testing. Accordingly, medical waste has been increased significantly from COVID-19 test and prevention in Ebeye, which is in line with the global trend that the amount of infectious medical waste increases rapidly during a COVID-19 outbreak and it overwhelms existing medical transport and disposal infrastructure around hospitals. It is critical that additional waste management systems are put in place to help prevent the spreading of COVID-19 and the emergence of other diseases.

Efficient, effective, resilient, sustainable, and affordable services and facilities that promote sustainable economic growth provided.

Coverage, and sustainability of integrated SWM service delivery improved in Ebeye

A high-temperature incinerator constructed, and waste disposal site and recycling facility upgraded.

Municipal solid waste collection, transport, and disposal operations improved

Institutional capacity to sustain SWM service delivery and local engagement strengthened

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