American Journal of Environmental Protection

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Understanding Solid Waste Management Practices in Developing Countries: From Waste Disposal to Recovery of Resources

Received: 08 July 2019    Accepted: 06 August 2019    Published: 28 May 2020
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Abstract

This paper sought to compare the three methods of waste management in developing countries and identify the most economical option. Structured questionnaires were administered to three city councils in Sierra Leone with respect to landfills, composting and incineration as waste disposal methods. On-the-sport observation and personal interviews were also used to collect some useful data. The data was analyzed by using SPSS packages. The results showed that Landfills are the most common way of disposal in developing countries but they have not been successful in countries like Sierra Leone due to limited time frame of usage. Composting eliminates methane production, and increase life expectancy of landfills. Incineration does not necessarily replace landfilling but it significantly reduces the necessary volume of disposal. The study concludes that none of these three methods is free from problems. Therefore the study recommends that developing countries should adopt resource recovery, the most economical and best possible option to reduce the waste disposal problem keeping in mind the cost effects on the respective governments.

DOI 10.11648/j.ajep.20200903.11
Published in American Journal of Environmental Protection (Volume 9, Issue 3, June 2020)
Page(s) 39-43
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Sierra Leone, Solid Waste Management Practices, Waste Disposal, Recovery of Resources

References
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[4] S. Cointreau: Declaration of principles for sustainable and integrated solid waste management. World Bank, Washington, DC 2001.
[5] S. Kruljac: Public-Private Partnerships in Developing Strategies for Brazil. Bulletin of Latin 236.
[6] S. Abul: 2010. Environmental and Health Impact of Solid Waste Disposal at Mangwaneni Dumpsite in Manzini, Swaziland. Joumal of Sustainable Development in Africa Vol. 12(2010) p. 64-78
[7] M. Aatamila et al: Odour annoyance and physical symptoms among residents living near waste treatment centres. Environmental research Vol. 1 I 1(2011), p. 164-170.
[8] R. V. Mangizvo and M. Wiseman: The Management, Practice and Environmental Health Implications of the Municipal Solid Waste Dump Site in Alice, South Africa. Online Journal of Social Sciences Research Vol. 1 (2012), p. 125-131
[9] I. O. Ogunrinola and E. O. Adepegba: Health and economic implications of waste dumpsites in cities: The case of Lagos, Nigeria. International Joumal of Economics and Finance Vol. 4(2012), p. 239.
[10] M. Medina: Globalization, development, and municipal solid waste management in third world cities. Tijuana, Mexico: El Colegio de la Forntera Norte (2002), p. 199.
[11] D. Sood: Solid Waste Management Study for Freetown, Sierra Leone. Component Design for the World Bank, Draft Report Project (2004).
[12] H. Kleis and S. Dalager: 100 years of waste incineration in Denmark. Babcock & Wilcox Valund and RAMBOLL Vol. 7(2004).
[13] M. Firestone et al.: The US Environmental Protection Agency strategic plan for evaluating the toxicity of chemicals. Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health, Part B Vol. 13(2010) p. 139-162.
[14] T. Fruegaard, T. H. Chritensen and T. Astrup: Energy recovery from waste incineration: Assessing the importance of district heating networks. Waste Management Vol. 30(2010), p. 1264-1272.
[15] R. E. Alcock et al: Dioxin-like PCBs in the environmental human exposure and the significance of sources. Chemosphere Vol. 37(1998), p. 1457-1472.
[16] O. van Steenis: Incinerators: Weapons of Mass Destruction. Summary of paper at the RIBA Conference 31st Jan-2nd Feb, 2005.
[17] P. Connett and E. Connett: 1994. Municipal waste incineration: Wrong question, wrong answer. Ecologist Vol. 24(1994, p. 14-20.
[18] C. Lee and G. L. Huffman: 1996. Medical waste management/incineration. Journal of Hazardous Materials Vol. 48(1996), p. 1-30.
[19] H. J. Spooner: 2010. Wealth from Waste, Elimination of Waste a World Problem (Taylor & Francis 2010).
Author Information
  • Department of Science Education, Ernest Bai Koroma University of Science and Technology, Port Loko, Sierra Leone

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  • APA Style

    Foday Pinka Sankoh. (2020). Understanding Solid Waste Management Practices in Developing Countries: From Waste Disposal to Recovery of Resources. American Journal of Environmental Protection, 9(3), 39-43. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajep.20200903.11

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    ACS Style

    Foday Pinka Sankoh. Understanding Solid Waste Management Practices in Developing Countries: From Waste Disposal to Recovery of Resources. Am. J. Environ. Prot. 2020, 9(3), 39-43. doi: 10.11648/j.ajep.20200903.11

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    AMA Style

    Foday Pinka Sankoh. Understanding Solid Waste Management Practices in Developing Countries: From Waste Disposal to Recovery of Resources. Am J Environ Prot. 2020;9(3):39-43. doi: 10.11648/j.ajep.20200903.11

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ajep.20200903.11,
      author = {Foday Pinka Sankoh},
      title = {Understanding Solid Waste Management Practices in Developing Countries: From Waste Disposal to Recovery of Resources},
      journal = {American Journal of Environmental Protection},
      volume = {9},
      number = {3},
      pages = {39-43},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ajep.20200903.11},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajep.20200903.11},
      eprint = {https://download.sciencepg.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajep.20200903.11},
      abstract = {This paper sought to compare the three methods of waste management in developing countries and identify the most economical option. Structured questionnaires were administered to three city councils in Sierra Leone with respect to landfills, composting and incineration as waste disposal methods. On-the-sport observation and personal interviews were also used to collect some useful data. The data was analyzed by using SPSS packages. The results showed that Landfills are the most common way of disposal in developing countries but they have not been successful in countries like Sierra Leone due to limited time frame of usage. Composting eliminates methane production, and increase life expectancy of landfills. Incineration does not necessarily replace landfilling but it significantly reduces the necessary volume of disposal. The study concludes that none of these three methods is free from problems. Therefore the study recommends that developing countries should adopt resource recovery, the most economical and best possible option to reduce the waste disposal problem keeping in mind the cost effects on the respective governments.},
     year = {2020}
    }
    

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    AB  - This paper sought to compare the three methods of waste management in developing countries and identify the most economical option. Structured questionnaires were administered to three city councils in Sierra Leone with respect to landfills, composting and incineration as waste disposal methods. On-the-sport observation and personal interviews were also used to collect some useful data. The data was analyzed by using SPSS packages. The results showed that Landfills are the most common way of disposal in developing countries but they have not been successful in countries like Sierra Leone due to limited time frame of usage. Composting eliminates methane production, and increase life expectancy of landfills. Incineration does not necessarily replace landfilling but it significantly reduces the necessary volume of disposal. The study concludes that none of these three methods is free from problems. Therefore the study recommends that developing countries should adopt resource recovery, the most economical and best possible option to reduce the waste disposal problem keeping in mind the cost effects on the respective governments.
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