EXAMINING THE POLICY IMPLEMENTATION GAP AND OUTCOMES IN SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT GOVERNANCE: CASE OF PAKISTAN'S MAJOR CITIES

Abstract

The rising urbanisation rates, population growth and lack of institutional capacity have combined to make the solid waste management (SWM) one of the most visible and persistent governance problems in the main cities of Pakistan. Despite the increasing number of legislative and policy instruments (including the Pakistan Environmental Protection Act, provincial Solid Waste Management Board Acts, National Climate Change Policy 2021, municipal waste management companies, and current bans on single-use plastics), the effectiveness of collection, secure disposal, and recycling has not been close to the policy targets in most urban areas. This study explores the factors contributing to the failure of solid waste management policies in non-Pakistan, especially in the three main cities of Pakistan (Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad-Rawalpindi) and secondary cities. Lack of policy, resource-mandate mismatch, institutional tensions between provincial and local governments, poor contract enforcement and systematic exclusion of informal recycling actors from formal institutional processes are found to be more a problem of institutional disunity than of non-existence and are found to be more prevalent in the two countries that were studied. The research also documents some assessable, although less consistent, advances, especially in Lahore, which hold promise of lessening differences in implementation on the back of institutional stability and adequate funding over time. The document culminates with impartial, policy-oriented suggestions aimed at enhancing coordination, funding, and inclusivity within Pakistan's solid waste management framework.