The Solid Waste Management (SWM) team has continued its research into solutions to Cange’s waste problem. The town of Cange continues to struggle with the accumulation of waste, with no viable method to dispose of it. The goal of the SWM team is to research a method that would allow the town to properly dispose of a portion of their waste while also serving a positive role in the local economy. Over the summer, the interns in Haiti were able to complete an in depth look at the only SWM system in Cange, the groundskeepers at the Zanmi Lasante campus and hospital. This system and its flaws serve as a useful model for how a new SWM solution would be utilized. In addition, the interns collected better data on the types of waste most prevalent in Cange. With this knowledge in mind, the team has continued research into specific SWM methods. Most important to the design philosophy is economic incentive and social acceptance. As seen with the Zanmi Lasante system, when not properly incentivized, portions of any system will be neglected. And without social acceptance, the system will have a poor reception by the local community and will have limited impact. Reviewing research on SWM systems in other developing countries has only reinforced the importance of these principles.
