Abstract

Many urban areas in Cameroon are heavily polluted with plastic waste and the Buea Municipality is not an exception. The inability of the Buea Municipal Council and HYSACAM to tackle the problem, calls for the participation of the general public, Households as a subset of the public consume more plastic products and subsequently generates enormous amount of waste.

In addition, their waste management practices affect the environment. In view of this, the study was carried out with the following objectives; to identify the type of plastics litter generated in the community, to determine how households, handle plastic litters in Buea Municipality a to identify the challenges encountered by household in the management of plastics litters in Buea Municipality.

In order to achieved the study objectives, the study sampled some selected waste dumps within Molyko and Malingo (Tar and Untarred) to determine the plastics waste generated and composition. In addition, 40 households were also sampled using a structured questionnaire on plastics waste management practices, problems faced and measures that could be put in place to combats these problems.

Data was analysed using SPSS (21.0). Findings revealed that the daily plastic waste generation in the study 38.04kg/day. Polyethene terephthalate (PET), PVC and LDPE were the major type of plastics waste generated in the study area with daily volume generated to be 19.6kg/day, 19.2kg/day and 19.1kg/day respectively.

The study also revealed that household practice very little or no sorting of plastics waste from general waste and also dispose plastics waste either by burning, burying or dumping in an open space.

Major challenges facing plastic waste management among households in Buea Municipality were not limited to lack of dustbins, lack of dumping sites, long distance of dumping site and irregular collection of waste from dumps sites.

Reduction in consumption of plastics, stopping consumption of plastics, supporting recycling efforts, change in attitude as well as the inclusion of the general public in waste management decision making were some of the measures that could be put in ace to combat the problems of plastics waste management in the Municipality.

The study recommended the creation of awareness among households and all in society regarding indiscriminate use and disposal of plastic bags will be a good option to overcome the problem in future.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background to the Study

The management of solid waste is a growing problem in many urban areas in Africa today. Plastics are organic materials made by man which are produced as raw materials from oil and natural gas. They’re relatively inexpensive, durable and versatile. Products made of plastics have brought economic activity, jobs and quality of life benefits for society. In many cases, even in some packaging applications, plastics can even help to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions as compared with alternatives (European Commission DG ENV, 2011).

The plastics industry has developed considerably since the invention of various routes for the production of polymers from petrochemical sources. Plastics have substantial benefits in terms of their low weight, durability and lower cost relative to many other material types (Andrady and Neal, 2009).

Worldwide polymer production was estimated to be 260 million metric tons per annum in the year 2007 for all polymers including thermoplastics, thermoset plastics, adhesives and coatings, but not synthetic fibres (Plastics Europ, 2008). This indicates a historical growth rate of about 9% per annum globally. Thermoplastic resins constitute around two-thirds of this production and their usage is growing at about 5 per cent p.a. globally (Andrady 2003).

Plastics together with rubbers have an interesting history of their development when, without these two groups of materials, modern life cannot be considered. While rubber became indispensable in the early 20th century, since 1930 the plastics industry began its major growth (Brydson, 1999; Rosato and Rosato, 2013), with four major thermoplastics groups including polystyrene, polyvinyl chloride, polyolefins, and polymethylmethacrylate (Fried, 2003).

With plastic use, more and more plastic wastes are being produced (World Bank, 1996). FOEN (2003) reports that plastics make up about 15% of household waste and, according to a December 2010 survey, the United States.

The Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) determined that 30 million tons of plastic waste were generated in 2009 by the United States alone. It is believed that plastics can persist for up to 100 years after their entry into the environment without being decomposed by sunlight and/or microorganisms (Stevens, 2001).

Therefore, the problem of plastic waste management is a major global trend that has evolved over the decades and needs a broad and comprehensive solution that involves systemic use and development rethinking (Wassener, 2011). This is a crucial issue not only for developing countries but also for developed countries

When enormous amounts of plastic waste are produced worldwide, the most crucial question raised is how to handle it effectively and efficiently to save the atmosphere and the continued existence of mankind (Wienaah, 2007). Most municipalities, towns and cities around the world tend to deal with the issue because it brings negative externalities to the environment.

It is usually non-biodegradable and therefore can remain as waste in the environment for a very long time (EC, DG ENV, 2011) it may pose risks to human health as well as the environment, and it can be difficult to reuse and/or recycling in practice.

An issue of particular concern is that giant masses of plastic waste have been discovered in the North Atlantic and the Pacific Ocean; the full environmental impacts of which are not yet fully understood but which cause severe damage to seabirds, marine mammals and fish (EC DG ENV, 2011).

In Cameroon, most of the concern for plastic waste management is with the urban areas than the rural areas. Urban areas in Cameroon produce a variety of these plastic wastes because of the adoption of a more hygienic mode of packaging food, beverages, “iced water” and other products. This has brought plastic packaging to replace the existing cultural packaging methods (leaf wrappers, brown paper and metal cup uses) in cities and towns.

This widespread replacement of packaging modes with plastics is an indication of the uniqueness of plastic properties such as versatility, inertness and flexibility, particularly in the packaging application areas. Because of their unique properties, plastics have become the most preferred packaging materials in trade with companies making windfall profits and transferring to the general public the environmental costs associated with cleaning plastic waste.

Because plastics have only been mass-produced for around 60 years, their longevity in the environment is not known with certainty. Most types of plastics are not biodegradable (Andrady 1994), and are extremely durable, and therefore the majority of polymers manufactured today will persist for at least decades, and probably for centuries if not millennia.

Even degradable plastics may persist for a considerable time depending on local environmental factors, as rates of degradation depend on physical factors, such as levels of ultraviolet light exposure, oxygen and temperature (Swift and Wiles, 2004), while biodegradable plastics require the presence of suitable micro-organisms.

Therefore, degradation rates vary considerably between landfills, terrestrial and marine environments (Kyrikou and Briassoulis, 2007). Even when a plastic item degrades under the influence of weathering, it first breaks down into smaller pieces of plastic debris, but the polymer itself may not necessarily fully degrade in a meaningful timeframe.

As a consequence, substantial quantities off end-of-life plastics are accumulating in land-fills and as debris in the natural environment, resulting in both waste-management issues and environmental damage (Barnes et al. 2009; Gregory 2009; Oehlmann et al. 2009; Ryan et al. 2009; Teuten et al. 2009).

Recycling is a waste-management strategy, but it can also be seen as one current example of implementing the concept of industrial ecology, whereas in a natural ecosystem there are no wastes but only products (McDonough and Braungart, 2002).

Recycling of plastics is one method for reducing environmental impact and resource depletion. Fundamentally, high levels of recycling, as with a reduction in use, reuse and repair or re-manufacturing can allow for a given level of product service with lower material inputs than would otherwise be required.

Recycling can, therefore, decrease energy and material used per unit of output and so yield improved eco-efficiency (WBCSD 2000). Although, it should be noted that the ability to maintain whatever residual level of material input, plus the energy inputs and the effects of external impacts on ecosystems will decide the ultimate sustainability of the overall system.

1.2 Statement of the Problem

Like any other urban area in Cameroon, the municipality of Buea also struggles with the issue of, particularly plastic waste. As a consequence of plastic waste disposal, the Municipal is engulfed with dirt.

Municipal council and private sector waste management agencies such as HYSACAM are making numerous efforts to address the issue but the situation is not improving. Plastic waste is often deposited in unauthorized places like gutters, open places within residential and market areas, around waste containers and along the roadside.

When these plastic wastes are collected and taken to dumping sites by waste management bodies, it is believed that it is not properly managed. They are often left in piles for weeks and then set on fire, which in turn releases toxic gasses that could be harmful to locals and the environment.

Also, some of these plastic products are blown or washed back in neighbouring communities when the wind blows or during the rainy season. Furthermore, the inappropriate disposal of these plastic waste especially where they turn to choke gutters promotes flooding of road networks during rains. Some of the plastic litters harbouring in gutters serve as a breeding ground for mosquitoes.

The build-up of unidentified plastic waste from discarded domestic and manufacturing equipment, appliances and containers are also daunting. These include toothbrushes and containers for powder, body/hair cream, detergents, cooking oil, machine oil, as well as broken toys, and plastic chairs, buckets and utensils. Banjo et al (2009) established those same types of plastic waste in Nigeria.

From observation, the current environmental situation confirms the fact that, together with HYSACAM (the only private waste management firm in Buea Municipality), Buea Municipality is unable to cope with the problem and needs the help of the general public, especially households, because they are directly involved in plastic waste generation and disposal.

In Cameroon, while plastic waste is sent to dumpsites, the majority ends up in rivers, streams and open spaces. Much plastic waste is disposed of at the dumpsites by open dumping, open burning, managed burning and tipping. These methods used in plastics management have only proved unsuccessful over the years. The current state of plastic waste management leaves much to be desired. Less than 40% of urban residents are served with waste collection services.

The traditionally applied methods of dealing with wastes including burning, burying and open space dumping has been unsuccessful, and the resulting contamination of water and land has led to growing concern over the absence of an integrated approach to waste management in the country. So this means that there is no single solution to the plastic waste management problem.

 

Generally speaking, waste management processes are typically framed in terms of generation, storage, treatment and disposal, with the transport being placed between the necessary stages. George (2008) therefore stated that a combination of source reduction, recycling, incineration and burial in landfills and conversion is currently the best way to manage household waste, including plastic waste. Nonetheless, for this optimal way of generally managing waste, involvement by all stakeholders including households is crucial.

1.3 Research Questions

1. What types of plastic litters are generated in Buea Municipality?
2. How do residents manage plastics litters in Buea Municipality?
3. What challenges are encountered by residents in the Management of plastics litters in Buea?
4. What are the best possible measures that can be put in place for a sustainable plastic litters management in the Buea Municipality?