Discussion: Widening engineering horizons: Addressing the complexity of sustainable development

The following discussion is from an Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) prestige lecture based on the original paper and delivered by the authors at the ICE in London on 24 September 2008.1 The event was chaired by Engineering Sustainability editorial panel chair, Professor Chris Rogers from Birmingham University. It was attended by an audience of 130 people as well as being watched by a similar number over a live web-cast. The web-cast can be accessed from the ICE archive for online viewing at http://scenta. interwise.com/etechb/ OnDemand/TH6509.

Framework for integration of informal waste management sector with the formal sector in Pakistan.

Historically, waste pickers around the globe have utilised urban solid waste as a principal source of livelihood. Formal waste management sectors usually perceive the informal waste collection/recycling networks as backward, unhygienic and generally incompatible with modern waste management systems. It is proposed here that through careful planning and administration, these seemingly troublesome informal networks can be integrated into formal waste management systems in developing countries, providing mutual benefits. A theoretical framework for integration based on a case study in Lahore, Pakistan, is presented. The proposed solution suggests that the municipal authority should draw up and agree on a formal work contract with the group of waste pickers already operating in the area. The proposed system is assessed using the integration radar framework to classify and analyse possible intervention points between the sectors. The integration of the informal waste workers with the formal waste management sector is not a one dimensional or single step process. An ideal solution might aim for a balanced focus on all four categories of intervention, although this may be influenced by local conditions. Not all the positive benefits will be immediately apparent, but it is expected that as the acceptance of such projects increases over time, the informal recycling economy will financially supplement the formal system in many ways.