MYANMAR Waste Management and Disposal Providers

Waste management in Myanmar falls under responsibility of the City Development Committees in Yangon, Mandalay, Nay Pyi Taw and the Township Development Committees in the townships (of 285 townships countrywide). Waste collection services and management activities are undertaken independently by each development committee, therefor waste management practices may vary from one township to another. Generally waste management is not as high a priority as other development priorities. Budgets for waste management are usually low.

Solid waste collection in Myanmar is labour intensive and relies on manual collection with non-specialized vehicles, ranging from pushcarts to garbage trucks. There are only six existing dumping sites in Myanmar, which are in Hlaw Gar township, Shwe Pyi Thar township, Htain Bin township, Data township, Kyi Su township and Htawe Chaung township.

Some materials such as paper, plastic and glass are collected separately from municipal waste and recycled by the city development committee. Small paper mills, glass factories and plastic industry are recycling these materials into new products. Myanmar does not yet have a large problem with environmental pollution due to a relatively undeveloped industrial sector and low population density.

Laws that relate to waste management in Myanmar are:

1. The Yangon Water-Work Act (1885)

2. The City of Yangon Municipal Act (1922)

3. The Water Power Act (1927)

4. The Underground Water Act (1930)

5. The City of Yangon Development Law (1990)

6. The Development Committees Law (1993)

7. The City of Mandalay Development Law (2002)

8. The Nay Pyi Taw Development Law (2009)

For information on Myanmar Waste management and disposal providers contact details, please see the following link: 

4.11 Myanmar Additional Services Contact List

Waste Disposal – Non Hazardous

Non hazardous waste collection Systems in Myanmar consists of house-to-house collection, centralised collection at a communal waste depot or communal block and limited collection for specialised or specific waste.

Sewage and black water is mostly collected in septic tank systems, pit latrines, or flows untreated into surface waters. There are only a few wastewater treatment plants, in Nay Pyi Taw and Yangon city, which connect only a small part of the city to a conventional sewage system.

Waste Disposal - Hazardous

Consumer Electronics such as TVs, Computer equipment and DVD players that contain toxic metals and chemicals may be reused and recycled. These are collected and recycled by the city or township development committees.

There is no specific government institution assigned with the task of overall management of toxic chemicals and hazardous wastes. There are sectoral laws and regulations related to management of toxic chemicals and legislation such as the Factories Act (1951) and Public Health Law (1972) which are related to management of hazardous waste