2.3 THE AFRICAN REGIONAL CONTEXT OF SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT
The main causes of urban environmentall7 problems in the region are:
• Increased population densities coupled with haphazard unplanned settlement.
• Industrialization.
• Poor environmental management policies.
• Lack of stringent environmental monitoring systems.
• Lack of waste removal services and supporting infrastructure.
As a consequence of these problems urban solid waste management is today one of the most intractable environmental problems confronting local authorities in eastern and southern Africa (Tevera, 1996). Insufficient waste collection and its inappropriate disposal now threaten public health and environmental sanitation. Many cities in the region confront acute environmental and health risks due to:
• Uncollected domestic, commercial and industrial solid waste;
• Urban drainage systems that are blocked by indiscriminately dumped refuse and are no longer working; and
•
Contamination of water resources near legal and illegal dump sites. 18Leachates from dumps pollute soil, groundwater and surface water around dumpsites and thus render the quality of drinking water un acceptable. Inadequate collection and disposal of waste is a combined factor in the spread of gastrointestinal and parasitic diseases through contamination of drinking water and food.
The development of a waste management system for any country cannot proceed in isolation as it is directly related to the country's financial position, resources, the socio-economic level of its people and its potential for industrial growth. The vulnerability of the local environment, the quantity and types of wastes generated and the attitudes of people all increase the complexity of
17 Sibanda, H. M. (June, 1997). Environmental Rehabilitation: Doing it Right. Paper presented at a UNDP SADC Workshop on Environment and Development, Maseru, Lesotho.
18 Ntoampe, Kelello (November, 1998). Influence of Municipal solid waste on Environment and its Management. Report on Lancer's Gap Dumpsite impacts on Environment, Maseru, Lesotho.
the problem through superimposition on basic infrastructure attributes in the above paragraph (Lombard, 1993). The standard of waste disposal throughout Southern Africa is low, particularly in smaller local authorities (Moyo et al. 1993).
2.3.1 Resource Recovery and Utilization
The extraction of material from waste stream and its utilization in various ways is commonly termed, "recycling". Recycling is practiced for many reasons, including financial gain, energy conservation, litter abatement, reduction of waste stream itself, and its potential to pollute and prolong the life span oflandfills.
It is often stated that recycling is a waste of time and that goods made of recycled materials are inferior. Inferior products do not necessarily result from the use of recycled materials. In fact, industries recycle on their production lines, as a matter of course. Recycling is an essential part of good housekeeping, which is designed to minimize waste and improve utilization of resources. It costs money to buy in raw materials but it is also expensive to dispose of waste in an environmentally acceptable way. Often, with a little thought, one organization's waste can be another's raw material resource. This has an economic benefit because the cost of virgin raw material is, in most cases, generally higher than the recycled one.
Each individual is ultimately responsible for own waste produced. Draconian legislation regarding waste is unhelpful. Waste management must be logical, systematic, disciplined and appropriate.
The SADC region needs to start developing a positive attitude towards solid waste management issues because the economies of most of the SADC countries cannot afford the cost of the cleanup due to pollution as a result of inadequate legislation and poor enforcement by the regulatory authorities. Affordable technology should still be imported, as part of the waste generated could still be used as a source of income for scavengers.
Resources recovery, or materials recycling, as currently practised in African cities, provides income to the urban poor who are unable to participate fully in the formal economy, and have to resort to informal sector operations. However, most informal sector resource recovery activities
are exploited by both the middlemen and recycling companies. Studies conducted in some African countries show that those at the lower ranks of the waste recycling industry are very poor and live in deprived conditions (Tevera, 1996). Waste pickers work in unsanitary conditions at landfills and dump sites where they collect papers, plastics, scrap metal, beverage cans and glass required by recycling companies. They travel long distances by foot to get to the dumpsites and work without protective clothing, which leaves them vulnerable.
2.3.2 The Urban Environment and Poverty
The incidence of urban poverty in Africa emanating from unplanned, haphazard urban settlement is evidenced by the multitude of squatters and slum dwellers, who live in sub-human environments plagued by squalor inadequate social amenities such as schools, health facilities, waste disposal facilities and clean water and lack of recreation facilities. The majority of these people operate in the informal economy. For example, as hawkers, petty commodity producers, scavengers, etc and often live a life of constant illegality because most of their activities are not sanctioned by the law (Tevera, 1996). It is common to see Local Authority (LA) officials chasing the vendors in the pretext of enforcing the law. The presence of informal or illegal dumping and the burning of waste have a negative impact on both the environment and humans. The health of the poor is often adversely affected by pathogenic microorganisms in their living environment. Good examples of these problems that commonly affect the poor are the parasitic and infectious diseases transmitted by polluted water used for drinking and bathing 19 • Respiratory diseases are contracted through exposure to indoor air pollution from burning biomass for cooking and heating; and through the inhalation of dust and smokes during scavenging in the landfill or waste dump site.
Poverty has important environmental dimensions. The very poor, struggling at the edge of subsistence levels of consumption and preoccupation, and focused on day-to-day survival, have limited scope to plan ahead. This group, especially women, lack access to formal markets for credit and information that would provide advice on risk-reducing practices. Waste dumpsite
19 Otieno, F.O. Kgaogelo P. (June 1999). Management Strategy for Domestic Waste at Informal Settlements - Bester Case Study, Durban, South Africa. Paper presented at 4th International Waste Management Congress, Botswana.
scavenging is an activity that effectively highlights the association between poverty and exposure to survival risks. The poor are compelled by circumstances to over-exploit these resources, even though this jeopardizes their future livelihood and their future generation. Survival becomes the priority for the poor rather than the broader and longer-term issues of national and global environment.
As stated previously, disposal of wastes on land has the potential to cause severe environmental pollution and poses risks to human health (DOE, 1986). The health risks principally result from inadequate protection of collection and disposal workers and scavengers, disposal of solid waste within open dump or illegal dumps and contamination of either surface or sub-surface flow components ofthe hydrological system which are, or could be, used for drinking water supplies (World Bank, 1991). All domestic and household garbage has the potential to generate toxic leachate (Lee & lones, 1991). There would therefore, appear to be a fundamental land use incompatibility between storage and disposal of garbage and the provision of drinking water from adjacent aquifers. In addition, uncollected or inadequately disposed solid waste is a public nuisance. It clogs rivers and open drains, encroaches on roadways diminishes landscape aesthetics, and causes unpleasant odours and irritating dusts. In the preceding sub-section, it has been shown that considerations of solid waste management are made on the national context basis. Therefore, these issues should be seriously taken into account.
2.4 SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT THROUGH ENTREPRENUERSHIP AND