cross cultural studies of sustainable waste management

The “waste management” reality in most places of the world equals no separation, no controlled collection. 

Thus the aim of this pilot project is to inculcate on residents the awareness, mindset and behaviour of waste segregation and converting waste into wealth at their respective households. This shows that sustainable development goals (SDGs) cannot be achieved until waste management is given adequate priority.

Historically, prior to globalization the major constituents of waste among African communities were wood, food waste, vegetables and other organic, domestic and biodegradable materials. During this era, the edible parts of the waste stream were fed to animals (livestock) while the remaining was allowed to decompose in the ground (soil) thus resulting to manure for the growth of vegetables and trees at the backyard of each resident. As a form of reuse and recycle, vegetables and other food waste were fed to livestock and green waste was used as fertilizer, while timbers were reused in construction work (sculptures) .There was no need for waste management system during this period. In the 21st century due to urbanization, the waste streams have changed with the presence of more synthetic (non- putrescible) materials. This brought difficulty in the disposal of waste in Africa. However, with the introduction of waste sorting/ segregation and the R of waste management at the waste generation source, the traditional method can be reintroduced into the society, thereby reducing the amount of waste disposed of in dumpsite.

This Sustainable Waste Management pilot project will be implemented in two different communities.  In Iduonwinna  community, there are 2250 people, approximately 613 household (424 flat accommodation, 98 duplex and 91 bungalow), 1 public primary school, 7 private owned schools and 25 places of worship (Edo state waste management board, 2017). In Pobaga community, there are 1567 people and approximately 403 households (25 streets).

As a result of the high rate of unemployment in Nigeria, some youths in the community will be incorporated to help collect, sort and sell the recyclables to the recycling company agents. Assuming one hundred percent  (100%) coverage of all households comprising the two communities covered by the “household participatory programme” (HPP), the potential income on recyclables (compost and non biodegradables) could be considerable and can be estimated based on size of the household population.

Thus the aim of this pilot project is to inculcate on residents the awareness, mindset and behaviour of waste segregation and converting waste into wealth at their respective households. During the course of the project, collection of  segregated recyclables and residue waste will be at the source, mostly individual households where the waste have been segregated as non- biodegradable and biodegradable materials. As a result of the high rate of unemployment in Nigeria, some youths in the community will be incorporated to help collect, sort and sell the recyclables to the recycling company agents. Assuming one hundred percent  (100%) coverage of all households comprising the two communities covered by the “household participatory programme” (HPP), the potential income on recyclables (compost and non biodegradables) could be considerable and can be estimated based on size of the household population.

A fully effective source separation programme, together with an organize waste composting initiative could result in waste stream reduction of 60 to 70% of the total waste disposed of at the dumping sites and saving valuable airspace. Also as a result of differences in the waste stream content, new technologies in waste management implemented and successful in developed countries may not be applicable in Africa. Hence appropriate technology and approach based on the best local solution is to be applied in Africa. Hence 

source segregation of food and other recyclable waste with household door-to-door is implemented. This can be run with no substantial increase in overall costs, and sometimes costs are even lower than with traditional collection (no segregation of waste). Also door to door sensitization campaign was used for initial strategy to gain the attention of the residents in the community about the project. Thereafter further step to motivate and engage the public was via continuous public awareness campaigns based. Activities done, for instance, include promotion of the 3R – reduce, reuse, and recycle – advertisement on publicity boards, on local radio channels, and in local newspapers, as well as workshops, exhibitions, lectures, street plays, and demonstrations. This helped inform the public of the financial benefits of waste segregation as they paid for the recyclables and their waste are collected free of charge. 

Various monitoring evaluation tools are used to ascertain the achievement level of each activity and the overall project efficiency, effectiveness and impact in the communities. The main method is the use of DRONES to get aerial surveillance and monitoring of activities of the waste collectors and the sanitation quality of the area covered by this project. It provide high spatial detail over relatively large area. Other monitoring methods that are used are  planning models, monitoring charts, activity report, focus group session and participant feedback survey. However, these tools in combination with other internal management methods will provide dynamic approaches to identify project inefficiency and to apply counter measures that ensure successful completion of each activity planned.

It must be underlined that if source separation of waste is added to that of commingled municipal waste, with no modification in the pre-existing scheme for MSW collection, total costs are likely to rise. This actually tends to happen with the segregation of waste by means of road containers and irregular collection. But this does not necessarily happen when waste collection is introduced in such a way that the overall collection system is optimized and regular. The key point is that intensive door-to-door schemes for waste – when made “comfortable” for households - yield high captures. This sharply reduces the percentage of recyclable waste especially biodegradable waste in residual waste, which can then be collected less frequently with fewer complaints regarding odours. This approach might be considered likely to be especially effective in municipalities where households are charged on the basis of frequency of residual waste collection as operated in Benin City and Bolgatanga. 

In Iduonwinna  community approximately 613 household (424 flat accommodation, 98 duplex and 91 bungalow), 1 public primary school, 7 private owned schools and 25 places of worship (Edo state waste management board, 2017). This is the number of people we hope to serve in one year of the start up

We currently serve 134 households (68 flat accommodation, 21 and 45 bungalow), 1 public school and 2 private schools.

We hope to involve another community in Ghana the following year, that is 

Pobaga community, there are 1567 people and approximately 403 households (25 streets). 

In the next 5 years we are targeting an estimated 250 sub-urban communities cutting across Ghana and Nigeria. 

1. Every household in the selected communities engage in waste segregation/ sorting at the source
2. Majority of household accept the traditional approach of waste disposal (backyard composting and sales of recyclable) after waste segregation
3. Participants in the door to door campaign will receive handout material that can be shared with individuals in other communities to continually promote the project purpose.
4. Increase income opportunities to those involved in actual operation, namely, household residents participating in the programme, uniformed waste collectors, public and private schools in the communities.
5. Improved health condition in the communities. Prompt treatment of the biodegradable waste prevents bad smells that attract flies and other pests. This is expected to reduce insect and vermin densities due to elimination of breeding places and harborages; and reduce the incidence of infectious and communicable diseases like tuberculosis, typhoid and hepatitis
6. The potential to trigger additional private sector investment and reduce existing barriers to investments through public-private partnerships. The initiatives as peer learning platforms will serve to demonstrate to other counties the development benefits and business opportunities in MSW management.
7. All communities in both Nigeria and Ghana adopting this approach to solid waste management.
   1. Advocate for policy on the need to stop collecting non-segregated waste from household by waste managers. 

• Inability of finding buyers for the compost fertilizers. We are partnering with and seeking support of the various State and Municipal Agriculture ministries
• Finding buyers for the e-waste collected from the households participating in the programme.
• Lack of recycling companies in the communities selected for the study. For example in Nigeria and Ghana, recycling plants are found in few cities. In Nigeria, recognizable are Lagos and Aba. Thus we need financial support to establish our own recycling plant to reduce the cost of transporting the recycled products.
  • We need financial and technical support to enable us spread the idea more effectively to larger audience in other Africa communities.     

• We are partnering with and seeking support of the various State and Municipal Agriculture ministries to help solve the issue of compost manures
  • for the financial and technical aspect, we have written to State government and other NGOs for support. 

This project have organized this informal sector by giving 15 scavengers contract employment in this project. Priority was given to scavengers residing in the community of study (especially women).  

Environmental and Health Education students (300 Level only) are attached to the eco-centers (for now HSE departmental lab) in door to door campaigns, establish eco-clubs in schools and to ensure continuity of the program. This serves as their mandatory practicum (industrial training exercise) exercise. There are currently 62 of them in this programme. 

This programme is promoted by environmental education lecturers and students, University of Benin. As environmental educators we have the ability to organize efforts to teach about how natural environment function and particularly how human beings can manage their behaviour and ecosystem in order to live sustainable. The objectives of this programme are 

1. promoting enabling environment for healthy living 

2. Teaching of individuals and communities, in transitioning to a society that is knowledgeable of the environment and its associated problems, being aware of the solutions to these problems and motivated to solve them. 

3. Safeguarding future global development of societal quality of life, through the protection of the environment, eradication of poverty, minimization of inequalities and insurance of sustainable development   

This programme is promoted by environmental education lecturers and students, University of Benin in collaboration with Unuel Waste Management company (3km 11, Benin- Lagos express way, Benin City),  Mr Osita (Waste recycling company agent in Benin city) and Tree crop unit division of Ministry of Agriculture. We are seeking the partnership and support of the government, companies, nongovernmental organizations for financial contribution as well as donations for machineries for scientific recycling and composting.     

Hundreds of thousands of Nigerians youth find livelihood opportunities in the area of waste scavenging in the various designated dumpsite in the various towns. These set of individuals usually descend on the waste dumped at the sites without appropriate Person Protective Equipment (PPE) thus putting their health at risk. This pilot study have organized this informal sector by giving 15 scavengers contract employment in this project. Priority was given to scavengers residing in the community of study (especially women).

Residents in the sub-urban communities are actively engaged in this pilot project. They are motivated to participate in this project through incentives such as providing financial benefit for participating in waste segregation (purchase of their recyclables), assuring them strict adherence of routine door to door waste collection (every Thursdays) and awareness campaign (weekends) on the need for proper management of solid waste. Also special feeling of ownership vis-à-vis the project is created as each household regularly meet at the end of the month for street clean up and deliberate on the progress of the waste management approach. 

School children are engaged in this project as school intervention programmes such as environmental club, school gardens (school feeding programme) are established in both public and private owned schools in the communities. 

Environmental and Health Education students (300 Level only) are attached to the eco-centers (for now HSE departmental lab) 

The proceeds from the sale of products (compost, recyclable, and planting materials) are used to upset operation cost and given to the uniformed waste collectors. This is a form of incentive.

We are have written several proposal for grant in various international and national organizations 

• SOLVE will help with financial and technical advice on expanding this project beyond just one community we are embarking on. We hope to spread this programme beyond Iduonwinna community to other communities in Nigeria and Africa. Because various high tech innovations have been tried in this part of the world to solve waste management issue but many of them have failed. This idea is indigenous to Africa setting. The main thing lacking is finance and technical advice for networking this innovation to other developing nations 
• Lack of recycling company in the communities selected for the study. For example in Nigeria and Ghana, recycling plants are found in few cities. In Nigeria, recognizable are Lagos and Aba. Funds and technical advice from SOLVE will help kick start the recycling plant 

Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the aspect of providing high tech drones for monitoring and evaluation. We currently rent drones from a movie production company over here. 

The Al prize can help in DRONES to get aerial surveillance and monitoring of activities of the waste collectors and the sanitation quality of the area covered by this project. It will provide high spatial detail over relatively large area

• will help with financial and technical advice on expanding this project beyond just one community we are embarking on. We hope to spread this programme beyond Iduonwinna community to other communities in Nigeria and Africa. Because various high tech innovations have been tried in this part of the world to solve waste management issue but many of them have failed. This idea is indigenous to Africa setting. The main thing lacking is finance and technical advice for networking this innovation to other developing nations 
  • Lack of recycling company in the communities selected for the study. For example in Nigeria and Ghana, recycling plants are found in few cities. In Nigeria, recognizable are Lagos and Aba. Funds and technical advice from SOLVE will help kick start the recycling plant 

• will help with financial and technical advice on expanding this project beyond just one community we are embarking on. We hope to spread this programme beyond Iduonwinna community to other communities in Nigeria and Africa. Because various high tech innovations have been tried in this part of the world to solve waste management issue but many of them have failed. This idea is indigenous to Africa setting. The main thing lacking is finance and technical advice for networking this innovation to other developing nations 
• Lack of recycling company in the communities selected for the study. For example in Nigeria and Ghana, recycling plants are found in few cities. In Nigeria, recognizable are Lagos and Aba. Funds and technical advice from SOLVE will help kick start the recycling plant 

• will help with financial and technical advice on expanding this project beyond just one community we are embarking on. We hope to spread this programme beyond Iduonwinna community to other communities in Nigeria and Africa. Because various high tech innovations have been tried in this part of the world to solve waste management issue but many of them have failed. This idea is indigenous to Africa setting. The main thing lacking is finance and technical advice for networking this innovation to other developing nations 
• Lack of recycling company in the communities selected for the study. For example in Nigeria and Ghana, recycling plants are found in few cities. In Nigeria, recognizable are Lagos and Aba. Funds and technical advice from SOLVE will help kick start the recycling plant 

• will help with financial and technical advice on expanding this project beyond just one community we are embarking on. We hope to spread this programme beyond Iduonwinna community to other communities in Nigeria and Africa. Because various high tech innovations have been tried in this part of the world to solve waste management issue but many of them have failed. This idea is indigenous to Africa setting. The main thing lacking is finance and technical advice for networking this innovation to other developing nations 
• Lack of recycling company in the communities selected for the study. For example in Nigeria and Ghana, recycling plants are found in few cities. In Nigeria, recognizable are Lagos and Aba. Funds and technical advice from SOLVE will help kick start the recycling plant 

• will help with financial and technical advice on expanding this project beyond just one community we are embarking on. We hope to spread this programme beyond Iduonwinna community to other communities in Nigeria and Africa. Because various high tech innovations have been tried in this part of the world to solve waste management issue but many of them have failed. This idea is indigenous to Africa setting. The main thing lacking is finance and technical advice for networking this innovation to other developing nations 
• Lack of recycling company in the communities selected for the study. For example in Nigeria and Ghana, recycling plants are found in few cities. In Nigeria, recognizable are Lagos and Aba. Funds and technical advice from SOLVE will help kick start the recycling plant