These guidelines by the UN Environment/OCHA Joint Unit and the Swedish Contigency Office (MSB) provide guidance on how to properly manage disaster waste following emergencies.

Disasters and conflicts can generate huge quantities of solid and liquid waste that threaten public health, hinder reconstruction and impact the environment. Disaster Waste (DW) can be generated by the actual disaster, as well as, later during the response and recovery phases. Safe handling, removal and management of DW are important issues in disaster response and recovery. Effective approaches can help manage DW risks to life and health and seize opportunities from the waste to support recovery and development outcomes. This document provides general guidance divided into the immediate response phase, medium term phase and long term phases. The latter includes information on contingency planning. It also presents key considerations that are important throughout the process regarding for example health and safety aspects, as well as tools and checklists for implementing the guidance provided.

Consult the guidelines in English here and in Spanish here.

The DW Management Contingency Planning Guidelines can be found here.