Not Wasting Waste

2008-03-19T18:55:15+01:00

Introduction

Improper waste disposal is a menace in most developing countries. The need for proper waste disposal must be acted upon urgently to safeguard the environment. The environment has been robbed of its pure, fresh and natural state. Environmental issues respects no territorial boundaries, hence it is a global problem. We therefore need to think globally while acting locally to address this issue which affects us now and the future generation.

Vision

The communities, in which we live, must be clean, safe and healthy for all. Also together join hands to improve social and economic conditions of our various communities.

Mission

To motivate the people in the communities where we live, to rise up and tackle waste management issues, so as to improve our economic conditions.

In order to control the declining status of our environment and avoid total collapse of the pure, fresh and natural atmosphere, there is the need to determine practical and feasible management systems to treat our refuse and solid wastes.

In our response to this, the ‘WASTE TO WEALTH INITIATIVE’ was founded by a group of young Africans, who are passionate about the environment and want to help rectify some of the problems. They do not just want to sit on the fence and talk about issues, but think about practical ways and be part of the solution.

The ‘WASTE TO WEALTH INITIATIVE’ is an organization committed to the development of practical local actions in achieving positive global change.

Objectives

To orient the mindset of young people towards proper waste disposal methods, and equip them with basic knowledge and skills in recycling waste.
2.

To bring to fore awareness on the health hazards related to improper waste management.
3.

To educate the community on the need for proper waste disposal techniques.
4.

To turn wastes into environmentally friendly products and improve self-help initiatives
5.

To improve community capacity for a sustainable future.

Project Design

How to carry out the project?

Collection of waste and sorting of materials (preferably plastic and nylon waste)

Training sessions

Young People to be trained must be;

Committed to the ideals of a clean, safe and healthy environment.

Possess genuine passion to learn and enhance their leadership skills.

Construction of a simple biogas plant

Souvenirs (ie, T’shirts, hand bands, signboards, notebooks, etc)

Need to acquire waste collection tools (ie, bins, gloves, etc)

Waste collection bins should be placed at vantage points

Sources of finance for the initiative (personal funds, collaborations)

Characteristics of participating groups- education, male/ female ratio, age, employment

What kind of waste to collect for the project

Benefits of the project

-Generation of a positive behavioural change in participants and the community at large (ensure a socially responsible populace)

-Lead to cleaner safer environment

-Reduction in health problems

-Development of entrepreneurial skills for waste collectors and those who utilize these wastes

Measure of impact

-Increase in public awareness and education on the need and benefit of conserving the natural environment

-Change in attitude towards the use of waste disposal bins

-Reduction in the number of sick people at health facilities

-Readiness on the part of other schools, researchers, NGOs, to join and embrace the initiative

-Revenue generated

-Before and after evaluation of project

Affiliations/ Partners

-SIFE

-Related NGOs and Government Agencies

-Participating Institutions/ Schools

-Community Based Organizations

Resources and what they would be used for?

Cost of publication for Weekly Training Sessions/ Seminars/ Workshops

Hand bills and flyers

Souvenirs

Waste bins, rakes, brooms, shovel

Biogas plant construction

Local material needed

Expertise will be sourced locally and fabrication done locally

How much should we budget for?

Specific programmes/ Initiatives

-Waste Management Programme

-Waste Collection Programme

Choose specific location for project?

Campus/ Ayeduase Primary School/ or…

Recommendations

Educating the public on the dangers of improper waste disposal

Health- improve personal awareness of hygiene and health issues

Improve economic conditions, ie waste picker household’s income

Solid Waste Management Campaign

Encourage sorting of waste (wet and dry), volume reduction waste, organic fertilizers, recycled materials

Waste picker centers

Cleaning facilities, informal child care

Greater volume of waste and management

Under financing and weak management

Waste normally thrown on roadsides, vacant land, drainage canals

Waste Picker Education

What actually should be done?

Through songs

Role models to share a thought with participants

Discussions about potential improvements in their own community

Teaching resources- handouts and pictures

First aid treatment- gloves, iodine, bandages

Counseling sessions- issues such as reproductive health, sexual abuse, etc

Community education- food hygiene, cholera

Provision of protective clothing for waste collectors to create team spirit and pride

Gender consideration to waste generation and disposal- light weight materials and suitably sized and equipment maintenance (how?)

Top-up income from sale of recyclable waste

Issues on siting of communal bins and monitoring to prevent waste being strewn around

Issues about Scavenger Children- like children who normally find themselves on rubbish dumps picking up stuff for play or for recycling purposes

RUBBISH DISPOSAL BEGINS AT HOME

Can households fill the gap?

Lessons to be learned includes removal of waste to an intermediate storage place or disposal area

Issues, constraints and potential solutions in the primary collection of solid waste

Actors, involved in local initiatives include

Households who generate initiatives

Waste collectors

Intermediary community and civil society organizations

How can we clear our neighbourhoods

Householders are often unwilling to join collection schemes, why?

Without externally initiated educational programmes, people do not generally see the relation between waste collection and improved health benefits

People have unrealistic expectations that local government should sort out the mess

Waste collection schemes need municipality linkages and mechanisms for revenue collection

Further issues to discuss:

Women and management of household waste- because of traditional role

Waste pickers exposed to health hazards

Successful schemes depend on entrepreneurship of waste collectors- ensure that waste collectors are regularly renumerated, both in cash and in kind

Need to ensure that waste collectors do not find separation of waste for recycling time consuming

Contributors: Mansoor Ali (S.M.Ali@lboro.ac.uk) and Marielle Snell (snel@IRC.NL), Lessons from community based initiatives in solid waste: Water and Environment Health at London and Loughborough (WELL). Task 99, March 1999. From id21 Community Development Research

GETTING RID OF WASTE

Inexpensive safe disposal options for developing countries that avoid the dangers of incineration, landfill gases and leachate (soluble component of waste)

Investment in disposal or control of unofficial dumping is low on politicians’ agendas although we struggle to collect the majority of waste

Donors delay schemes by pushing for unachievable Western standards of disposal

The false impression that all land disposal is offensive, leading to the search for unaffordable high-tech alternatives as incinerations

Landfill sites present significant environmental and human health risks- risks of explosion, toxicants, preventing migration of landfill gases, control of emissions, water course pollution, eutrophication and death of animal life

Incineration- pollution and expensive

Composition, quantity, moisture content and density of waste collected. These must be known for effective waste management

Composting

Encourage sharing of local and regional experience

Incentives to improve waste disposal

Contributors: Andrew Cotton (P.Cotton@lboro.ac.uk), Ali Monsoor (S.M.Ali@lboro.ac.uk) and Ken Westlake. Down to earth: Solid waste disposal for low income countries; Water, Engineering and Development Centre, Loughborough University, 1999.

Book from Loughborough’s Water, Engineering and Development Centre (WEDC) guidance to solid waste management, Case study of Karachi

INNOVATIONS TO SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT PRACTICES

Assessment of better services, who should pay?

WEDC presents findings implemented in 3 cities in Pakistan and Bangladesh

Cost effective primary collection of solid wastes, strengths and weakness of current practices

We mostly identify problems other than solutions

We need to plan achievable and affordable targets

Residents are not normally consulted. Inform public and encourage their participation

Long term financing for operation and maintenance

Contributors: S.M. Ali and A.P. Cotton. Process of change in solid waste management: Field Note, WEDC, Loughborough University, 2000

NOT WASTING WASTE

Recycling is the only way urban inhabitants in low income countries earn a living (Intermediate Technology Development Group- ITDG)

Waste picking forms the basis for a web of recycling activity

Accommodation of waste presents logistical problems for municipalities

Solid wastes in most developing countries are too low in calorific value, have too much organic material and subject to too much seasonal variation in moisture content to permit conversion to energy by incineration.

Waste workers generally have a low level of awareness of health and safety

Biogas digesters for domestic lighting and cooking (China and India began this in 1993)

Bio fuel from coconut, cotton seed, groundnut, soy bean etc

Ensure that currently employed waste workers are fully integrated in new policies

Contributors: Dr Smail Khennas (smail.khennas@cilss.bf), Dr Liz Bates (lizb@itdg.org.uk) and Susan Taylor. Urban waste management for small scale energy production, April 2003

DANGERS OF WASTE COLLECTION IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES

Waste pickers should be recognized for the positive environmental work they do and protected from the risks they face from harzardous waste

Collect and sort waste from roadsides, bins and dump sites

Waste is from households, commercial, institutional and industrial sources

Profits of this sector usually benefit wholesale buyers of recyclable materials

3 main categories of dangers of waste collection:

Direct- faecal oral contamination, cuts and infections, burns, skin disorders, worm infections and diarrhea

Direct environmental- animal bites, exposure to flies, cockroaches, mosquitoes, rats, dump sites collapses, air water and soil contamination

Indirect environmental- social stigma, poor hygiene

Should children and adolescents be involved in this work at all?

Risk may be reduced by;

Safe removal and disposal of harzardous waste

Disinfecting solid waste

Distributing protective equipment, ie gloves, footwear, tools

Develop better transport systems to contain waste

Immunizing workers against tetanus

Contributor: Caroline Hunt (caroline-hunt@lshtm.ac.uk). A review of the health hazards associated with the occupation of waste picking for children. International Journal of Adolescent Medical Health 13(3): 177-189. London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine

THE PROJECT

Minimize and separate domestic waste

Collect household garbage from door to door

Transport to a nearby site for segregation into dry waste

Convert wet waste to compost and sell to farmers

Plastic and metals will be sent to recycling industries and then impose a monthly ‘garbage’ fee on the local residents. Children could generate some income

Expansion of project

Social impact- improvement in living conditions

Environmental- garbage collection and treatment

Education materials

Staff to be consulted

Community organizers

Vermicompost technician

Microbiologist

Field supervisors and project manager

Funding

Church organizations

Municipal bodies

Local residents

‘Environmental NGO Fund

Activities

Community organizing

Composting

Rehabilitation of waste pickers

Liaising with Municipal officials to do awareness raising

Look at providing technical and managerial know-how to community, residents and groups

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