Advancements in and Integration of Water, Sanitation, and Solid Waste for Low- and Middle-Income Countries

The water, sanitation, and solid waste sectors are closely related and have many interactions between their respective service chains in low- and middle-income countries. Currently, these interactions mostly lead to cross-contamination, and opportunities for co-benefits are seldom realized. This review presents the key advancements within each of these three development sectors in the past two decades. We identify numerous similarities such as decentralization, resource recovery, community involved planning, and digitalization. Despite the potential for synergies and the opportunities to maximize positive interactions, there have been few attempts to break the existing sectoral silos in order to integrate these three service chains. We argue that, with the right enabling environment, an integrated approach to holistically planning and implementing water supply, sanitation, and solid waste management can create positive interactions resulting in co-benefits among complementary development goals.

Automated summary

The water, sanitation, and solid waste sectors in low- and middle-income countries are closely related, with many interactions between their service chains. These interactions often lead to cross-contamination rather than mutual benefits. Despite the potential for synergy and positive interactions, there have been few attempts to integrate these three service chains due to existing sectoral silos.