Abstract

Waste is an inevitable consequence of industrialization and urbanization. Generally, cities in the developing world face challenges in solid waste management and the situation in Buea municipality is not different. This study was aimed at assessing waste management, characterisation and disposal in Buea municipality, particularly in Boduma and Great Soppo.

In order to achieve the study objective, simple, random and convenient sampling techniques were used to sample 40 residents by means of structured questionnaires and interviews. A GPS was used to collect coordinates of illegal dump sites and the Arc GIS (10.3.1) software was used to convert shapefiles to show the spatial distribution of dumpsites in Buea municipality.

The data were analysed using the statistical package for social science (SPSS 21.0) and excel spreadsheet and the results were presented using charts, graphs and tables. The study findings revealed that 62% of the total population in Boduma and Great Soppo produced <1Pantex bucket of waste a day where 40% of the total waste was food waste, 20% was plastics and the remaining percentage consisted of rubbish and others, the waste was mostly disposed of by children between 6-12years old, 57.5% of the waste was emptied in open dumps and most of these open dumps were located at the roadside.

The study also revealed that 65.5% of the population is willing to pay for an improved waste management system, it was therefore concluded that, poor waste management was partly caused by poor governance, inadequate collection bins and ignorance thus the study recommends that more waste bins should be provided to the community, campaign programs should be organised to educate people on proper waste management and a waste management fee should be introduced for improved waste management service.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the Studies

Waste (wastes) are unwanted or unusable materials. Waste is any substance which is discarded after primary use or is worthless, defective and of no use. Rapidly urbanizing communities are characterized by indiscriminate waste disposal and unconventional waste management practices especially in Sub Saharan Africa Kretchy et al., (2019). With an expectation of the global population to reach a level between 9.5 and 10 billion in, 2050 from the current level of 7.6 billion (Zhang and Huang, 2014), this will post serious challenges in effectively managing solid waste in urban areas (Cheng et al., 2008). The huge production of municipal waste is directly linked to the present human standard of living, characterizing a severe environmental issue mainly for regions where successful plans for solid waste management are not efficient (Abarca-Gu, 2013).

In Cameroon like many other African countries, waste management is poorly practised. The study of Manga et al, (2007) indicated that solid waste management services are rudimentary. The practise is primarily concerned with the collection and dumping of waste without proper management methods. This form of management is due to factors such as inadequate financial resources, low levels of law enforcement as well as poor governance and lack of human resources.

Moreover, current regulations do not adequately address waste handling or disposal. Inefficient implementation of waste management policies and documentation is affected by a duplication of functions and responsibilities between governmental agencies and the local councils (Manga et al, 2007)  Solid waste management is gradually turning into a difficult job for the municipalities across the world  because of rising waste volumes, varying waste structure, declining dumping locations, and related environmental risk Srivastava and Nema,( 2011).In most cities in sub-Sahara Africa, solid waste management systems are limited to the collection via centralized drop-off containers and door-to-door collection, transportation with waste collection vehicles, and finally, landfilling in legal or illegal dumpsites (Sotamenou, 2019). In some cases, this system is complemented by an informal pre-collection scheme where rudimentary tools such as wheelbarrows, holders, rickshaws or bags are used to transfer the waste from the households to the centralized drop-off containers. Sorting and mechanization (anaerobic digestion) are practically non-existent, while incineration or waste burning remains deeply controversial due to the use of outdated and polluting technologies (Sotamenou, 2012)

Waste is commonly dumped in open dumpsites, uncontrolled landfills where waste collection service is organized by the state government or burnt in any available open space within the neighbourhood of residential areas (victor Fredrick,2016). In developing nations, a great proportion of the solid waste generated is dumped either in controlled landfills or open dumps which constitute a source of health risk to surrounding residents. The use of sanitary landfills is not feasible for many waste management authorities of most countries due to costs constraints. In their study of health risk urban solid waste landfill sites in Sao Paulo, Gouveia and do Prado discovered that in Brazil, only 47% of all the garbage collected was disposed of in sanitary landfills, 23% in controlled landfills while the remaining 30% were in open dumps

More than ninety per cent of solid wastes are disposed of in open dumps, creating environmental and community health issues, hence solid waste management is a crucial practice that deals with the vital community need and its poor management and inapt disposal

can result in problems that jeopardize human health by reproducing of bugs that increases the risks to pathogens and water contamination (Singh, 2014). It also affects environmental conditions by increasing soil and air pollution and thus impedes sustainable development (Alavi et al., 2009).

The geographical Information system (GIS) is a digital database management system designed to manage large volumes of spatially distributed data from a variety of sources. They are ideal for advanced site-selection studies because they efficiently store, retrieve, analyse, and display information according to user-defined specifications. GIS has been extensively used to facilitate and lower the cost of landfill site-selection process.

Manual methods adopted for analysis of many factors would be a lengthy and tedious work. GIS is used in this study to create various maps, data analysis and spatial distribution of dumpsites. GIS is a fundamental part of modern geography and it is extensively used by environmental planners. Spatial analyst of ARCGIS software has been used to locate waste disposal sites (Victor Fredrick, 2016)

This study will investigate the illegal dumping sites found in Boduma and Great Soppo Buea and also check the perception and risk awareness of the community about the dumpsites.

1.2 Problem Statement

A huge amount of waste production and its management could become a serious problem in urban areas, particularly in the developing world. Due to the harmful effects of degrading waste on human health in heavily populated areas (Diaz,2017). Belel and Mahmoud (2013) found that the average waste generation per household was found to be 32.4% were a recyclable waste. Lack of adequate waste collection system and proximity to dumpsites was attributed to causing dumping by residents in drains/gutter.

In 2006, the global amount of municipal solid waste generated reached 2.02 billion tones, representing a 7% annual increase since 2003 (Global Waste Management Market Report, 2007). Before now studies have been conducted on waste management in Cameroon and in Limbe. For instance, Mbeng et al. (2012) carried out a study on waste characterization in Limbe as an element of household waste management operations. The study focused on the composition of household waste in the municipality.

The number of illegal and unmanaged waste dumps have significantly increased in Buduma and Great Soppo Buea during the last three years (2016-2019). Due to the socio-political crisis that began on October 2016 in the Northwest and Southwest regions of Cameroon. The uncontrolled waste dumps have a consequential environmental impact in the said area. As some waste eventually rot and as a result, produce soil, water and air pollution.

Not only do these contribute to the creation of a greenhouse gas effect but also cause significant harm to marine and wildlife. Apart from this, improper waste disposal can also have adverse effects on human health by reproducing of bugs that increase the risk to pathogens and water contamination. This study, therefore, will uncover the problems post by the presence of the various waste dumpsites in Buduma and Great Soppo Buea such that solutions can be found.

1.3 Objective of the Study

1.3.1 Main Objective

The general objective of this study is to assess solid waste management, characterization and disposal in Buduma and Great Soppo

1.3.2 Specific Objectives 

1. To identify and map out the location of dumpsites using the GPS in Buea municipality precisely Bonduma and Great Soppo
2. To characterize the dumpsites in Bonduma and Great soppo
3. To identify public concerns and perceptions of these dumpsites in the said community

Read: Environmental Science Project Topics with Materials