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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.
Cameroon has vast renewable energy resource potentials, with a hydropower potential of about 55,200MW, second only to the Democratic Republic of Congo in Africa. So far, its energy needs are met by 4.8% hydropower (which accounts for less than 5% of its total hydropower potential), 0% wind and 0% solar. Cameroons’ energy sector still goes through insufficient electrical energy production, especially during the heart of the dry season, which runs from December through March. Coincidentally, the wind and solar power potentials for Cameroon are at their peak during these months and could conveniently supplement for the shortfalls in generation during these periods. In this research, technical analysis were carried out to determine the wind and solar energy resource potentials for Cameroon using the RETScreen software tool provided by CANMET Canada. These analysis revealed that the northern regions of Cameroon had higher wind and solar resource potentials than any other location in Cameroon. A 2MW installed wind energy capacity would be capable of generating well over 1.5GWh electrical energy per year, while a 2KW installed solar energy capacity will be capable of generating well over 3MWh electrical energy per year. In the final sections, financial analysis were carried out to determine the economic viability of such projects and the possibility for self-financing. Emission analyses were also done based on the ability for such projects to offset greenhouse gas emissions and ensure sustainability in the energy sector. The analysis for Maroua revealed that 78.6tCO2/yr for wind and 0.1tCO2/yr for solar could be reduced by those installations. Finally, the legislations and legal frameworks governing the energy sector in Cameroon were dissected to determine possible weaknesses and constraints limiting the use, promotion and development of the full potential of Cameroon’s renewable energy resources.