Gender and Waste Nexus: Experiences from Bhutan, Mongolia and Nepal

Summary of main findings and policy considerations

Mongolia

The following is a summary of main findings from the gender and waste country analysis for Mongolia, which includes relevant policy considerations. Further to this work, UNEP-IETC and the national partner organizations carried out stakeholder consultations. Annex 3 includes a list of elaborated policy implications summarized after the stakeholder consultations. Households are key to the success of waste management systems. The ways in which waste is created and managed at the household level is key to the success of current waste management systems. It will therefore be an extremely important aspect of any proposed waste reforms. Households have tremendous capacity to reduce the flow of waste into the system both through its consumption practices and waste management and recycling strategies. Policy considerations: Households, which currently have the least formal engagement with the waste sector’s power and policy structures, may be a pivotal site for reform in the waste sector. One recommendation is to install waste segregation infrastructure in order to facilitate and promote household waste segregation at the source. Involving both men and women in household waste segregation should be encouraged. Knowledge about recycling and its importance should be provided to both women and men. Women’s role in household waste management is largely unacknowledged. To date, there have been no efforts to assess the value of sustainable services provided on an unpaid basis by women managing waste in households and communities. Notions of the waste sector’s value chain are therefore underestimated and distorted. Policy considerations: Methodologies should be developed to assess the value of sustainable services that are currentlyprovided on an unpaid basis bywomen managing waste in households and communities. This will enable policies to be based on a more accurate view of the waste value chain. Food waste composting has huge potential. Food waste is one of the largest components of household waste in Ulaanbaatar. There is no organized composting capacity. Policy considerations: Providing infrastructure and education for household food composting could potentially reduce the amount of waste that the Households and communities

municipality has to collect and transport to landfills or that would be openly burned or dumped. Assuming no radical shifts in gender norms would enable women to have a more formalized, recognized role in waste recycling. Women could establish small-scale composting operations or use compost on soil in household gardens and public spaces. There is limited or no gender training available at upper waste management administration levels. All ministries have gender focal points, but at the district and sub- district waste management levels there is limited, if any, training or materials provided. Policy considerations: Gender mainstreaming can be strengthened if local level implementers are informed, trained and engaged as partners in the process. Training on gender mainstreaming for policymakers and other stakeholders in the waste sector should be organized. Waste management decision-making bodies should strive to have gender- balanced representation at all levels, including at the district and sub-district levels. Internal rules and regulations on gender mainstreaming should also be developed for stakeholders working in the sector. In addition, developing a policy for waste segregation that considers gender mainstreaming could create positive efforts to reduce waste and mainstream gender in the waste sector. Limited structural support and citizens’ behaviour are identified as key waste management challenges. Experts, city officials in the waste management sector and private and public managers at waste collecting companies identify the behaviour of Ulaanbaatar residents as their main waste-related challenge, citing issues such as illegal dumping. However, structural supports that would facilitate better behaviour, such as recycling facilities, regular and reliablewaste collections and street-level waste bins, are largely lacking. Policy considerations: The emphasis on poor behaviour shifts attention away from policies and policymakers, despite the fact that the behaviour may be closely linked with a limited access to utility services. Reviewing waste management services and infrastructures to identify key gaps and areas for improvement in the short term should be a priority. Raising public awareness and providing the public with information on the importance of gender mainstreaming in the waste sector via social media is also an effective measure that should be Policy and Governance

38 Gender and waste nexus