Similar to other poor countries across Africa, Malawi struggles with solid waste management (SWM). Especially considering the high proportion of organic waste, composting is a promising opportunity to tackle the problem. However, composting has had low uptake due to competing fertilizer subsidies, the perceived labour required, and a lack of training and equipment. Considering these issues, this paper presents an analysis of the political dynamics around SWM at markets in Blantyre, Malawi, and to understand how these dynamics may potentially affect the sorting of organic waste in order to improve the production of compost. We find complex systems of both formal and informal management that are deeply linked to the official political structures, creating a diverse array of actors with various vested interests. Implementing a separation program would need community engagement and long-term financial viability to ensure that the project is not abandoned as others have been. This paper contributes to understanding how the complexity of urban governance, combined with party politics, can affect the potential for introducing new models of waste management. It emphasises the importance of understanding both informal and formal management structures before designing interventions.

与非洲其他贫穷国家类似，马拉维也在固体废物管理 (SWM) 方面苦苦挣扎。特别是考虑到有机废物的比例很高，堆肥是解决这个问题的一个有希望的机会。然而，由于竞争性化肥补贴、所需劳动力以及缺乏培训和设备，堆肥的采用率很低。考虑到这些问题，本文分析了马拉维布兰太尔市场上围绕 SWM 的政治动态，并了解这些动态可能如何影响有机废物的分类，以提高堆肥的生产。我们发现与官方政治结构密切相关的正式和非正式管理的复杂系统，创造了具有各种既得利益的多样化参与者。实施分离计划需要社区参与和长期财务可行性，以确保该项目不会像其他项目一样被放弃。本文有助于理解城市治理的复杂性与政党政治相结合如何影响引入新的废物管理模式的潜力。它强调在设计干预措施之前了解非正式和正式管理结构的重要性。