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The unprecedented population growth, rising in community living standard and urbanization have left most municipalities in African Countries grappling to find viable solutions to their waste management problems. Improper waste management is attributed to systemic failure of policy makers and municipal authorities to identify the most sustainable approach to dealing with it so as to meet environmental and socio-economic aspirations. This study aims to find a new approach involving people of different social, ethnic, gender and religious groups in the reconstruction of local waste management systems creating typical win-win situations. The main objectives of this research are as follows: • Investigates how gender affects solid waste planning and the influence of different social status of the community especially the role of households. • Examines the level of community involvement in solid waste management in terms of policy formulation, implementation and evaluation. The case study area Cameroon “Africa in miniature” is used to highlight waste management burdens and challenges which are characteristic of most African cities. This research sought to answer one principal question: Can top-down approaches in municipal solid waste management be successful without sufficient community engagement and sense of ownership? Top-down approaches where considered in terms of policies and technology transfer. An integrated methodology was used involving a desk study, field survey for situation analysis, household questionnaire survey, habitat scale, “waste to cash seminar” for stakeholders’ analysis and focus group discussion. The outcome of this holistic investigation reveals a strong concern for a clean environment thus citizens’ participation and awareness creation is so vital to take the message to grass roots level. Municipal waste collection services are more effective when they work in collaboration with community led primary collection from households. It is clear that where a reliable service can be guaranteed communities are willing to pay for it. Building the capacity of communities implies empowering community to sustainably manage their waste. An integration of several factors is vital to increase sustainability. However, this does not undermine the fact that the best implementation in some situations is some sort of a middle ground between Top-down and Bottom-up.
An increase in waste production is inextricably linked to population increase and increasing civilization, and depending on the waste management approach, groundwater could be seriously affected. In Limbe, for example, waste disposal methods (sewage, littering, open dumping and burning) have led to the contamination of groundwater resources. This study aims at assessing the degree to which the Limbe waste sites conform to prescribed standards of waste site location, the extent to which the waste sites compromise or enhance groundwater protection. The study further investigates groundwater management around waste sites; investigating the factors responsible for groundwater contamination from waste sites; evaluating the extent to which past and present municipal solid waste management practices minimise or enhance groundwater contamination and suggesting possible methods (techniques) by which the existing situation can be improved. Seven groundwater samples were collected for laboratory (microbiological and physic-chemical) analyses in Cameroon and Germany. Field visits and observations made were supported by pictures and interviews. The method of waste disposal used in Limbe by LUC (until 2006) and HYSACAM (from 2006) already show negative effects on groundwater. Results of microbial analysis are higher than the standards of Cameroon, WHO and ISI 10500-91. Total Coliform showed values >1000CFU/100ml, E. coli showed up to 346CFU/100ml and others showed up to 159CFU/100ml. These excessively high values imply that water is highly contaminated biologically and so groundwater wells in Limbe are not good for human consumption. Physico-chemical analysis revealed, in most samples, values lower than the prescribed standards. However, NH4+ showed higher values in all samples (0.9mg/L-2.6mg/L). The high level of ammonium could be related to high production of sewage in households. L7 and L1 showed the lowest values, whereas, L6 showed the highest values in almost all microbial and physico-chemical parameters analysed. L6 was most contaminated with high values mostly exceeding the given limits. This dominant wetland area must be evacuated and water highly treated because it is very dangerous for human consumption. Vadose water in Limbe requires serious biological treatment and subsequent groundwater monitoring to minimise hazards. L7 and L1 have characteristics of Basalt and because of low level of contamination can be used as the base for comparison (that is natural water). Water must also be thoroughly treated for NH4 contamination. Waste disposal in Limbe is poorly practised and the site used must be changed. Improved waste management schemes like waste reduction, sorting and treatment are required before final disposal. Landfill construction with emphasis on barrier, leachate and gas collection systems will be most appropriate for waste disposal and in minimising leachate spill, and groundwater and other contamination. Geological and hydrogeological maps and investigations as well as recent climatic data are needed in order to choose an appropriate site for landfill construction. Most of all groundwater monitoring and sewage collection should be a very important consideration in the Limbe Municipality. Household dump sites must be thoroughly cleaned and the public sensitised on the importance of proper waste management to reduce groundwater contamination and its effects on man and the environment.
Recycling and material recovery are gaining more grounds in applicability as viable options to sustainable solid waste management especially in Municipal Solid Waste Management (MSWM) schemes. In this dissertation a critical analyzes is made of the MSWM problem in Cameroon and an assessment of the role Small- and Medium-Size Enterprises have been playing in the area of recycling and material recovery. The main research methods applied in this research include: fieldwork, administration of questionnaires, interview and literature review. Using two case study localities (Limbe and Buea municipalities), the various practices in MSWM are elaborated, the constraints and challenges faced by management discussed and proposals for either expanding/upgrading existing schemes to be more sustainable as well as strategies to initiate new systems presented. Innovations within collection systems such as the introduction of household bins and specialized collection of specific waste could be quite beneficial to existing schemes. Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) which constitute one of the fastest growing waste streams presents greater management challenges. Two case study localities (Buea and Kumba) are used to analyze the problem of WEEE in Cameroon. An overview of the handling of Electrical and Electronic Equipment (EEE) at end-of-life (EoL) in Cameroon is made with special focus on households and repair units. At household level, WEEE is disposed of alongside other waste arisings in the available disposal facilities for given household. Repair units represent a very vital connection between dysfunctional EEE and EoL forms as all users of EEE tend to bring these devices to these units for repairs. An inventory of the various EEE at repair units for these two localities shows that above 40% percent of such equipments are totally out of use. In Kumba, Classes 1 and 4 EEE (according to EU WEEE directive classification) dominate while class 3 is almost absent. In Buea, Class 3 and 4 are dominant. These results show that socio-cultural, economic and even climatic factors influence the choice of EEE that people in this area acquire. The intense level of repair activities and recovery of useful parts by repair units show that there exist adaptable options to handle WEEE in especially economically and environmentally beneficial ways. The recycling of aluminum for production of household utensils represents a very basic and adaptive industrial set-up, which can easily be operated and run at very cheap cost and with a little manpower. While this venture seems apparently successful in economic terms as an option to poverty alleviation through income generation, it is plagued by some problems which, if given due consideration will render it a prospective option for poverty alleviation (through small enterprise business development) and environmental sustainability (as an option to sustainable MSWM). In this dissertation, a model is thus presented, which can be utilized by stakeholders to improve on the sector. An assessment of efforts and constraints to implementing comprehensive recycling and recovery schemes in Cameroon was also carried out. Results show that there are existing practices on which comprehensive recycling and recovery can be built upon that would be beneficial to both councils and engaged schemes – mostly SMEs and NGOs. The challenges faced and likely to be faced and the way forward to implementing any broad scale recovery and recycling are presented. If municipal councils choose to operate existing MSWM schemes without significant changes, then collective collaboration will be highly required. Such collaboration will present benefits to both waste collection and disposal. On the other hand, if they wish to expand schemes or create new schemes, adaptive innovation would be highly recommended. Such adaptive innovation would have to incorporate local practices and approaches of MSWM as well as socio-economic considerations so as to ensure new or expanded schemes survive within local socio-economic context. A greater challenge in enhancing recycling and material recovery in particular and MSWM in general, in Cameroon is on the role the government takes on designing appropriate policies and legislative frameworks to cover such activities in economically and ecological beneficial ways. In the absence of these, SMEs, councils and NGOs (working in partnership with other specialized groups) concerned with activities related to recycling and material recovery may be left with the option of regulating activities within their sectors as such activities stand to alleviate poverty and also present ecological benefits.
While much is known about ISO 14001 and EMAS environmental management systems in general, comparatively little knowledge is about the application of these management instruments in non-industrial sectors, including the municipal waste sector. Consequently, the intention of this paper is to assist municipal waste treatment facilities with the development of environmental management systems in which the continual improvement of environmental performance can be coupled with an increased economic efficiency and quality of delivered services. For this purpose, a manual that provides sample polices, programmes and approaches to the successful realisation of the ISO 14001 environmental management system was written. Due to more stringent requirements for the sound management of municipal solid waste, a growing number of Polish municipal waste treatment facilities have implemented or intend to implement the ISO 14001 system. By the end of 2005, 25% of facilities were formally certified to the ISO 14001 EMS, 60% of which have integrated it with the ISO 9001 QMS. The facilities, despite encountering a number of difficulties, for instance during the identification and assessment of significant environmental aspects, are also gaining numerous benefits, resulting in an improved environmental performance. Ipso facto, 37.5% of municipal waste treatment facilities in Poland have admitted that the environmental-improvement potential of EMSs is higher than economic-human costs related to its introduction and operation. All the presented information, if other sources are not adequately referenced, are based upon the author’s research, encompassing quantitative and qualitative study methods, conducted among municipal waste treatment facilities in Poland in years 2004 – 2006. The response rate of 68% guarantees credibility of the collected data.
In the quest of finding sustainable solution to solid waste management problems in Ghana, this research formulated as its goal, to mitigate policy constraints to sustainable solid waste management in Ghana. This research goal and objectives were addressed through an empirical study that involved interviews and administration of two sets of questionnaires, one set to members of parliament and the other to members of the general public. The development of questionnaires was influenced by a conceptual policy development model “The Bridge Model of Policy Development”. Administration of questionnaires to members of the general public was accomplished through random sampling within churches and mosques in three cities in Ghana; Accra, Kumasi, and Takoradi. The percentage response for members of the general public was 38.9% and that for members of parliament was 18%. Prioritization of policy options was achieved through “Differentiated Perception Ranking”, a method devised by this research process. The results revealed the relative importance of constraints to sustainable solid waste management in Ghana, the relative difficulty of mitigating constraints, and the relative difficulty of implementing policy options among others. These results were integrated with the principles of sustainability into producing a policy package for sustainable solid waste management in Ghana.