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After more than a decade of conflict, Syria faces challenges to provide basic services, including solid waste management (SWM). This rapid need assessment draws on 50 household surveys, three key informant interviews with municipal officials, and direct field observations in residential, market, and coastal areas in Al-Asharah town, Deir ez-Zor governorate, and demonstrated the following takeaways:
Waste disposal and collection are informal, with limited municipal services, which creates incentives for widespread open dumping.
Women are mainly responsible for household waste disposal while children, particularly boys, were observed to be engaged in collecting recyclable materials from garbage.
Household cost recovery potential is small as the estimated willingness to pay (WTP) of $0.60 per household per month. However, scenario-based responses indicate a maximum feasible fee of up to $1.50 per month, suggesting scope for partial cost recovery, if services are reliable.
Main barriers include underfunding of SWM services, damaged infrastructure, fuel shortages, and limited fee collection enforcement capacity.
Needs and opportunities include community willingness and financial capacity to engage in waste separation, potential to build on informal recycling activities, and municipal readiness to manage expanded services, if resources become available.