INTEGRATED SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT: TOWARDS STRENGTHENING HAVANA TOWNSHIP LIVELIHOODS BY THE VALORISATION OF WASTE.

Abstract

The purpose of this mini-thesis was to develop an architectural solution to address the prevailing waste crisis and related socioeconomic activities within the northern periphery of the City of Windhoek. To understand the circulation of people and waste within these areas, the author interviewed various actors involved in the recycling process. The actors ranged from informal waste pickers to formal large-scale commercial operations. The author found that informal and formal actors within the waste management cycle are linked together, even if their operations seem to be completely separate and in isolation. Thus, an architectural solution is proposed to strengthen spatial agency between the existing socio-economic practices and informal actors found within this context, in conjunction with the formal actors providing economies of scale, knowledge, and market access. The project concept is based on ‘mutualism’, a natural process found in nature where several animal species collaborate to continue their existence. The design suggests a community-based development initiative where solid waste collection is incentivised, transported by waste bicycle carts and trolleys to a collection and processing point where the private solid waste management company (Rent-A-Drum) sorts, and separates recyclable commodities on an industrial scale. The waste management cycle is designed with consideration for the socio-economic context of the northern periphery of the city by providing market spaces for informal trade along prominent movement corridors.