Waste management in Bosnia and Herzegovina: a gender equality, social equity and poverty reduction lens

Key messages

• While waste collection coverage has expanded over the last decade in BiH, gaps remain and some areas remain under-serviced, especially rural regions. Roma households are also more likely to lack access to waste services than non-Roma households.
• Waste disposal practices can be influenced by gender and age. Hence, it is important to recognize and challenge social norms that affect people’s waste reduction and recycling behaviour.
• Due to the lack of alternative employment opportunities, many Roma communities rely on informal activities to make a living, especially collecting and selling garbage. As waste management systems are
  developed further in BiH, it is important to give informal waste collectors a stable role in this system.
• Waste management is a male-dominated industry. Introducing gender-based quotas and targeted training schemes can help diversify employment in the waste management sector.