Resource information
Municipal solid waste management
continues to be a major challenge for local governments in
both urban and rural areas across the world, and one of the
key issues is their financial constraints. Recently an
economic analysis was conducted in Eryuan, a poor county
located in Yunnan Province of China, where willingness to
pay for an improved solid waste collection and treatment
service was estimated and compared with the project cost.
This study finds that the mean willingness to pay is about 1
percent of household income and the total willingness to pay
can basically cover the total cost of the project. The
analysis also shows that the poorest households in Eryuan
are not only willing to pay more than the rich households in
terms of income percentage in general, but also are willing
to pay no less than the rich in absolute terms where no
solid waste services are available; the poorest households
have stronger demand for public solid waste management
services while the rich have the capability to take private
measures when public services are not available.
