Waste management and recycling through community participation

I have been wondering whether this project will make sense in a community development and engagement perspective.My less or the lack of experience working in an community-orientated program or project is the reason for my confusion in whether theme of my project proposal makes sense.

I think I got myself into something that is common knowledge and that have been successfully accomplished elsewhere in most countries in the world, however I would like to relate this to my own community in my home country (PNG), more appropriately to the citizens of Port Moresby, where I live.
Like other developing countries, the issues of waste management and recycling are neglected or ignored creating dirty and polluted environment. Port Moresby with its accelerating population is faced up with issue, although not to the magnitude of other major cities in the developing countries.
Waste disposal is normally done at open disposal sites and recycling is not a priority since all waste or rubbish/trash of any nature are not separated prior to disposal.

In Port Moresby, household waste collection and disposal is supposed to be done on regular basis but sub-contracting by the city authority to local contractors has been problematic due to insufficient finance, transport, equipment and labour. Recycling of household waste is almost non-existant. Apart from collection of re-saleable aluminium cans, PET bottles and beer bottles and cans, all the household wastes are placed in rubbish bins for disposal.

Normally decisions on Waste Management and Recycling come from a higher level and have political and economic implications. The role in which the community play is by far just to ensure their household waste is taken out and placed in trash cans/rubbish bins to be picked up by the garbage disposal contractors.

In my study programs in New Delhi, India and here in Brisbane, I have noticed that there are specific wheelie bins (or the like) for specific materials. The recyclable materials have their own bins. In India, they have recyclable depots where waste/rubbish is sorted out in different bins/boxes from grass/leaves up to glass and metal.

From those observation and knowledge, I can look at the possibilities of emphasising the importance of proper waste disposal using appropriate measures whether it be open disposal sites – dump and burn, incineration, isolated and restricted dump sites, or land reclamation. Connecting the city authority with the local communities, we can encourage the involvement, engagement and participation of the local communities within each suburb to sort out household waste for recycling purposes and work towards a healthy and clean community and environment. Community participation and the involvement of the city authority to consider this issue would lessen the amount of disposable waste dumps in open sites, categorizing types of waste and considering other forms of disposal, creating recycling programs and projects, and involving and engaging local communities to clean up and take pride to keep their community clean and healthy. Usually local communities within each suburbs can be the best options to participate in sorting out recyclable waste.

Could this be a viable proposal in terms of community engagement and participation? Just a thought but may look at other pressing issues of community engagement……