Abstract

Waste is an inevitable consequence of industrialization and urbanization. Like in all other rapidly urbanizing municipalities in the developing world, waste and its management are major challenges to sustainable development, of which Buea Municipality is no exception. The study was aimed at assessing the community’s perception of waste disposal strategies and challenges in Buea Municipality.

Data was collected through detailed structured questionnaires administered to 60 residents of the Buea municipality. This was complemented by key informant interviews, field observations and a desktop review of related literature findings reveal that. Collection dustbins were not distributed; most people resorted to the use of bags, plastic buckets among others for the storage of waste.

Waste was not totally disposed of at the officially designated collection points. Finally, the study found out that poor waste management was associated with outbreak of diseases such as malaria in both areas. The study concluded that significant strides have been made in the context of the partnership between the Buea Council and the Hygiene and Sanitation Company of Cameroon (HYSACAM) but more still remains to be done. The study recommends provision of more dustbins amongst others.

CHAPTER ONE

GENERAL INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background to the Study

Currently, world cities generate about 15 billion tins of solid waste per year which is expected to increase to 2.2 billion tins by 2025 waste generation dates back to man’s origin and the early way of life which principally was aging through the normadic experience of life. As urbanization continues to take place, the management of solid waste becomes a major challenge posing major public health and environmental problems for many countries. As a result, development must be sustainable in the sense of reducing ecological footprints while simultaneously improving the quality of life within the capacity limit od the globe (Lundstrom, 2007)

The characteristics and quantity of waste arising from domestic, commercial and industrial activities are not only the results of growing population, raising standards of living and technological development but also due to the abundance and type of natural resources from the country or community (Dongqing et al 2010)

According to Pearce (1994) developing countries faced several major problems as a result of waste management and has been classified as thus

• Health hazards from uncollected waste
• Health hazard from collected but poorly disposed
• Economic burden of waste disposal on towns and cities

Rapid urban development facing developing countries including Cameroon has come with serious environmental challenges concerning waste disposal. Waste arising from domestic social and industrial activities is increasing in quantity and variety as a result of a growing population, rising standards of living in most African countries and the development of technology (Dickerson 1999)

According to Flintoff (1984), the total population of developing countries account for more than 70% of the world’s population hence waste management in this country is of grave concern from two points of view firstly, the process of urbanization and population concentration that is inextricably link to waste disposal issues is progressing at a  pace that that is much faster than was ever experienced by today’s industrialized countries. The issue of waste management therefore has emerged in developing countries as a critical and impending disaster. Secondly, these countries often have difficulty in the administrative body, management capabilities and human resources that are indeed to take the lead in solving waste problems

Waste management is a social, economic and environmental problem facing African countries. Current reason for the poor management of waste in Africa include amongst others weak organizational structures lack of appropriate skills, inadequate budget, weak legislation, lack of enforcement, low public awareness, corruption, conflicts, political instability and lack of political will. While the volume of waste generated in Africa are relatively small as compared to developed countries, the mismanagement of waste in Africa is already impacting human and environmental health

The first African waste Management outlook published by United Nation Environment Program (UNEP) in June 2018 was in response to this global call, which set out the current state of waste management in Africa, including the state of waste governance, the associated environmental, social and economic impact of waste and opportunities that waste provide through appropriate solutions

Available data shows that 125 million tons per annum of municipal waste was generated in Africa in 2012 of which 80 million tons (65%)was from sub Sahara Africa. This is expected to grow to 244 million tons per year by 2025 however, with an average rate collection of only 55%

In Cameroon like other countries waste disposal is poorly practiced. The study of Manga et al (2007) indicated that solid waste management services are rudimentary. The practice is primarily concern with the collection and dumping of waste without proper management due to factors like inadequate financial resources low level of law enforcement as well as poor government. In this regard, waste management in Buea is inefficient in hazard minimization because sustain efforts has not been developed in the domain of waste education, collection, transportation, treatment and final disposal

Buea is faced today with many challenges related to waste management due to an increasing population, economic growth, inadequate enforcement of waste legislation infrastructure and altitude among others waste management is considered as crucial in Buea particularly Molyko. Everybody is a generator of waste and thus a contributor to this problem the generated waste is one thing, the type of waste is another thing and lastly how the generated waste is managed is another thing. These wastes cab be generated through domestic commercial and industrial sectors

1.2 Problem Statement   

In recent years, waste management has become a major problem hence creating awareness access to government attention from around the world. In the Buea municipality, Molyko neighborhood in particular, access to an improved waste disposal system there by causing increased in mosquitoes in some certain quarters in Molyko causing sickness associated to mosquitoe bites

Man during his course of civilization has settled in places where waste management haven’t been a problem. But with the increases in population and continues exploitation of natural resources for his own benefit, he has behave in a wild manner by creating problems of waste mismanagement leading to environmental hazards to both plants and humans. Like the burning of waste which released toxic chemicals to the environment causing global warming.

To this effect, efforts has been put in place to enhance solid waste management Like the company Hygiene And Health In Cameroon (HYSACAM) in Buea yet many problems persist such problems include, the measure of collection, distance and the collection route, as well as inappropriate dumping site. Other challenges faced by the company includes limited equipment, people’s negative altitude and poor road access to neighborhoods. Sometimes people go as far as dumping their waste into drainage systems without knowing the implications of such act. In line with the challenges faced by HYSACAM in managing waste in the municipality, the study therefore seeks to examine the challenges of waste disposal in Buea municipality with Molyko being the case study.

1.3 Research Questions

1. What is the method of waste disposal in Buea?
2. What are the causes of poor waste disposal?
3. What are the effects (impacts) of poor waste disposal in the Molyko neighbourhood?
4. What has been put in place by the Government to increase the waste disposal system in Molyko?
5. What solutions have been put in place to ensure the effective disposal of waste?

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