What is the solid waste management scheme in Burkina Faso? The case of Ouagadougou

Faq sheet on solid waste management, prepared by CREPA, Burkina Faso

Introduction

Waste management has become a constant preoccupation, as it occurs throughout the living environment and affects public health. Households, business centres, industries, etc., are confronted with waste problems.

Current laws related to waste instruct polluters and municipalities to ensure proper disposal of waste. These actors are requested to set up management schemes adapted to field conditions.

This document concerns solid waste management schemes in Burkina Faso, specifically the case of Ouagadougou. It enables us to understand the concept and the management system.

The study is limited to the situation prior to the launch of the new solid waste management scheme of the city of Ouagadougou, which has not yet been implemented, although infrastructures have been set up.

Regulation concerning solid waste

National solid waste policy is regulated by several laws and decrees that indicate the main orientations.

- Law no. 005/97/ADP of 30 January 1997 concerning the environmental code :

• Article 31 of the code is related to urban and rural waste management. Its application decree, no. 98/323/PRES/PM/MEE of 28 July 1998, concerns regulation of collection, storage, transport, treatment and disposal of urban waste.
• Article 36 concerns industrial waste. These laws stipulate the division of authority between the state and local communities regarding solid waste management, resources and the related charges.

- Decree no. 95-176/PRES/MFP/MATS of 23 May 1995 concerning the setting up of household waste collection fees:

• This decree, in its Article 8, says that each decentralised community should organise within its own boundaries, the collection and disposal of urban waste.

Division of authority for waste processing

MEE: Ministry of Water and Environment,

MIHU: Ministry of Infrastructure, Housing and Planning,

MS: Ministry of Health

Types of solid waste

The environment code globally distinguishes two types of solid waste: urban and rural waste, and industrial and similar waste.

NB: The entire categories composing rural and urban waste and simple industrial waste are considered domestic solid waste and are treated as such.

Waste management concept

Waste management is understood as the entire range of activities leading to the collection, transport and ecologically responsible disposal of waste. Together these activities constitute a waste management scheme or system.

Management system in Burkina Faso – Case of Ouagadougou

The city of Ouagadougou has about 941,894 inhabitants (National Institute of Statistics and Demography INSD, general census of the population of December 1996).

The municipality is organised in 5 districts and 30 sectors (areas).

Waste management is the responsibility of the municipality, which works together with associations and private enterprises active in this sector.

The management scheme used depends on the types of waste, financial resources and the logistics available to the actors.

The typical scheme consists of primary collection, secondary collection and transfer to the dumping sites.

Urban solid waste (8)

a) Collection

Collection systems

• door-to-door primary collection by carts and transport to transfer station or communal depots
• door-to-door collection by tractors or tipper truck and transfer to dumping sites
• dumping of refuse in communal containers that are transported by container trucks
• periodic collection from uncontrolled dumping sites by municipal technical services

Collectors

• women
• youth associations
• private collection enterprises
• municipal technical services

b) Evacuation

• Transport
  Transport is organised from households, communal containers, communal depots, uncontrolled dumping sites and transfer stations to dumping sites by means of tractors, container trucks and compactors.
• Treatment
  Currently there is no proper treatment. The present treatment is uncontrolled dumping in city surroundings. The engineering landfill designed for the city is still under construction and not yet operational.
• The Engineering Filling Site (CET)of Saaba
  The Engineering Filling Site (7) is a pilot project that experiments with dry dumping in the village of Saaba, a suburb of Ouagadougou. This engineering site receives waste from Ouagadougou and the village itself. The filling station is protected against any water infiltration. The dumped waste is therefore stable, as it has not been submitted to any biological deterioration.Composting is practiced on the biodegradable and organic materials (debris, straw, agricultural waste,…).
• Recovery
  Only a few categories of waste are recovered by reuse, recycling or composting: metal glass, used tires, biodegradable waste.
  Metal and cast iron are used for forging and casting to produce household utensils or foundry spare parts (case of cast iron).
• Composting
  Composting is practiced by some women’s associations on the biodegradable solid waste after the harmful elements have been removed (batteries, metal, glass). It should be noted that the composting activities are essentially carried out by the women of the village of Saaba and some women’s associations in Ouagadougou that are trained and supervised by CREPA.

General solid waste management scheme

The general solid waste management scheme (7, 8) is the result of the third urban development project, thanks to support from the World Bank. This general scheme will contribute to the improvement of communities’ environment through sound waste management. It comprises three aspects:

1. Primary collection of solid waste and transport to the transfer station or “collection centre” set up for this purpose. This step will be completely left to the private sector.
2. Transport to the engineering landfill in the city surroundings.
3. Controlled dumping of waste at the engineering landfill.

This scheme will be implemented soon. It should be noted that the present scheme is just an example of the general scheme of the city waste management.

Engineering landfill

The engineering landfill of Ouagadougou is about ten kilometres from the city and covers an area of 70 hectares. Identified in 1996 as a potential refuse filling site and following a pre-selection study, the site of Polesgo has been subjected to preliminary validation studies since 1998.

The life of the Ouagadougou landfill is estimated at 20 years. The volume of waste to be dumped over 20 years is about 6,141,000m3 (307,050m3/year or 840m3/day) (7).

Industrial solid waste

Industrial solid waste includes solid waste from industrial units and biomedical waste categorised as industrial waste. This waste is the responsibility of the producers.

a) Solid waste from industrial units (8)

Industrial units are in charge of this type of waste. It is collected and stored on-site or abandoned in the open. Uncontrolled incineration is the most frequently used treatment method, with all its environmental consequences.

b) Biomedical waste (2, 8)

Biomedical waste is generally collected and incinerated on-site with the help of incinerators (that are not always appropriate technologies), in the open air, or outside the hospital centres. Private companies, in charge of the cleaning up and maintenance of the health centres, ensure the collection and often even the disposal of the waste.

Traditional management of waste

Aside from organised waste management, there is the urban poor practise for informal management. It consists of storing waste in front of houses and transporting it to farms at a later point in time where it is used as fertiliser. Some just practice informal incineration of waste and use the resulting ash as fertiliser.

Traditional management generally concerns rural waste, but it is sometimes practised in urban areas and in peri-urban parts of Ouagadougou. (1, 8)

References

[1] Waas, E. (1996). SKAT/Centre de Cooperation Suisse pour la Technologie et le Management/Saint Galle//CH. Valorisation des déchets organiques dans les quartiers populaires des villes africaines - (Organic waste recovery in popular areas of African towns) - St. Gallen, Switzerland : SKAT.- 143 p. - 8 ill. ; ref. - ISBN : 3-908001-53-6

The recovery of organic waste in African townships falls in the context of research that aims to contribute to the knowledge of the town, taking into consideration its dynamic relationship in the context of the urban ecosystem. Specifically, this research aims to contribute to the improvement of the inhabitants’ living conditions in African townships, through more efficient waste management.

[2] Rabo, A.; Guene, O. (1998). Consultation locale sur la gestion des déchets biomédicaux à Ouagadougou : rapport définitif - (Local consultation on biomedical waste in Ouagadougou) - Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso; Dakar, Senegal : CREPA; IAGU.- 27 p.

The actual local consultation on biomedical waste management aims to report to authors and decision makers working in the health and environment sectors, on the results of a study concerning an environmental profile, in order to improve the existing waste management systems. The methodology used stems from elements of the German “Participatory Planning by Objectives (PPO).

[3] Guene, O.; Toure, C.; Maystre, L.Y. (1999).

Promotion de l ' hygiène du milieu : une stratégie participative - (Promotion of environmental hygiene : a participative strategy) - Lausanne, Switzerland ; Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso : Presses Polytechniques et Universitaires Romandes; CREPA.- 192 p. - ill., 1 tabl., graph., photos, images - ISBN : 2-88074-390-7

With the high urban growth rate worldwide, in 25 years more than half of the world’s population will be living in urban areas. The consequence will be environmental damage that, if we don’t pay attention, will make a healthy life for the population impossible.

Environmental hygiene promotion is mainly based on technical development, with active community participation in the process being a primary condition for success.

This document presents an introduction of different methods leading to community participation.

Using several examples and comparisons and by relying on multi-criteria decision making techniques (ELECTRE), the authors demonstrate that sustainability of programmes depends both on institutional and socio-economic factors, and on technical factors. In other words, the adaptation of technologies to their application context.

[4] DAEAU/Direction des Affaires Economiques et de l'Amenagement Urbain/Ouagadougou/BF. (1997). Politique sectorielle de gestion des déchets dans la ville de Ouagadougou - (Sector waste management policy in the city of Ouagadougou) - Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso : DAEAU

This document describes the municipal policy with respect to waste management. It specifies a regulatory framework that explains how companies or associations wishing to invest in the waste collection business should proceed. Some qualification and assent forms as well as an information form are provided to users in order to obtain a contract.

[5] Guene, O. (2000). Potentialités pour la promotion de l ' agriculture urbaine à travers la valorisation des déchets en Afrique de l ' ouest : cas de Ouagadougou : volet "ETA" Etat des lieux en gestion des déchets solides et liquides - (Opportunities for urban agricultural promotion through recovery of waste in West Africa : case of Ouagadougou, mapping of solid and liquid waste management aspect) - Ouagadougou (BF): CREPA, INERA.- 44 p. - tabl., maps

This document presents literature reviews, social surveys and focus group interviews that enable assessment of the options for urban agriculture promotion in sub-Saharan Africa, in particular in the city of Ouagadougou, from solid and liquid waste recovery, their characteristics, their use and the private actors that intervene in the developed domains.

[6] Tapsoba, A L.M.A.; Ouedraogo/Zongo, M.; Bayili, P.P. (1998). Gestion et financement des déchets solides municipaux dans la ville de Ouagadougou - (Management and financing of municipal solid waste in the city of Ouagadougou) - Ouagadougou (BF); Lausanne (CH): CREPA; Alter Ego.- 88 p.

An insalubrious city engenders health conditions that affect the level of productivity. The research of more efficient solid waste management is a daily preoccupation for municipal authorities. It is in this regard that this study has been undertaken. The study highlights all the actors, sectors and available means for elaboration of a structured framework leading to a satisfactory management of the city, in terms of the population’s health.

[7] Borduas, G.; Trottier, J. (2000). Schéma directeur de gestion des déchets - ville de Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso : rapport du SDGD de Ouagadougou : rapport final - ( General solid waste management scheme of the city of Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso: report of the SDGD of Ouagadougou : final report) - Montreal, Canada : DESSAU-SOPRIN- ill., tabl., graph., map

The government of Burkina Faso and the municipality of Ouagadougou, in their continued commitment to improve their inhabitants’ environment, have submitted for consultation the elaboration of an integrated and efficient waste management system. Thus, this document is a perfect illustration of the beginning of this political will. It suggests a general scheme of waste management (SDGD), setting up the practical modalities of the implementation of the different aspects of the recommendations. This includes the design of a landfill and recovery of waste, to the indispensable communication for raising the awareness of all actors. The result, recorded in this document, has been possible thanks to a meticulous analysis of the present city’s waste management.

[8] Compaore, Athanase, Traore, Yaya, TIizambo, Cyprien, Nabayaogo, Delwendé. Cercle pour l’Expertise en Environnement. (2003). Evaluation de la gestion des déchets solides au Burkina Faso - (Burkina Faso solid waste management assessment) - SAWES (Sahelian Agency for Water, Environment and Sanitation) (Report).

Waste management is a full part of the national policy as far as environmental improvement is concerned. Various resources (human, financial and material) are mobilised for better solid waste management. This document is an appreciation of management systems in Burkina Faso. It considers different types of waste according to the different urban centres.

Contact persons

• Cheick Tidiane TANDIA, General Director of CREPA, 03 BP 7112 Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso 03 Tél.: 00 226 36 62 10 or 36 62 11 Fax : 00 226 36 62 08
• Cyrille Amégnran, Engineer, 03 BP 7112 Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso 03 Tél.: 00 226 36 62 10 or 36 62 11 Fax : 00 226 36 62 08

--------------------------

Date written: 9 Jan 2004

Date revised: 7 Jun 2004

Author: Cheick Tidiane TANDIA, General Director

Organisation: Centre Régional pour l'Eau Potable et l'Assainissement à faible coût (CREPA), Burkina Faso

Reviewed by: Marielle Snel, Programme Officer, IRC

--------------------------