During July 
and August 2015, the Disaster Waste Recovery (DWR) carried out an in-depth Emergency Waste Assessment in six governorates of Yemen in partnership with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). Due to shelling and street-level fighting, it was impossible for DWR to deploy experts directly to affected areas.
A purpose-built data collection tool was built by Ben Grundy and deployed onto phones and tablets of UNDP and partner staff already on the ground. The tool enabled Olmo Forni, an experienced disaster waste expert, to analyse the situation accurately and recommend interventions in different areas based on specific needs. The recommendations were:
- Emergency employment programs within local authorities who have struggled to retain their staff during the crisis
- Repair and rehabilitation of damaged waste collection vehicle fleets where these have been stolen or damaged by the warring parties
- Dumpsite improvement works where uncontrolled landfill fires have been reported;
- Healthcare waste management resumption in Sana’a where a World Bank funded treatment facility is ready to start operations;
- Recycling reactivation through power generating equipment donation to small and medium waste traders.
To learn more about disaster waste management, consult the guidelines developed by the UNEP/OCHA Joint Unit here.