One of the problems of population and urbanisation in developing countries is the high generation of municipal solid waste. Kano being one of the largest cities in sub-Saharan Africa in terms of population, experiences indiscriminate disposal of municipal solid waste and this affects the quality of air and water as well as the aesthetic beauty of the environment.

Globally, there has been advancement in technology geared towards the handling of different categories of waste for sustainable development. The narratives remain the same in many developing countries except perhaps for a few.

The environmental degradation caused by ineffective waste management continues unabated in our cities despite government efforts in addressing it. The situation is characterised by littering, open dumping, neighbourhood uncleared waste and lack of proper waste disposal system among others. These are often associated with deterioration of social, economic and environmental fabrics.

The UNDP estimates that a global average of 0.74kg of waste is generated per person per day. Kano, has an estimated population of more than 15 million, how much solid waste could such a population generate? According to report from the refuse disposal agency (2023), an average of 3000 tons of solid waste is generated per day in Kano and less than 40 per cent is being evacuated. UN studies on developing countries’ show that waste generation rates are expected to increase by approximately 40 per cent or more by 2050, largely driven by rapid urbanisation and population growth.

To tackle this problem, the state government recently inaugurated a waste management initiative committee to come up with various strategies of waste reduction and management in Kano including the possibility of engaging the private sector. This should be seen as an opportunity for investors in this sector to drive maximum benefit.

Moreover, the committee should expand their scope and come up with sustainable best practices on utilisation of the potential opportunity therein for economic growth to boost the state’s internally generated revenue.

There should be proper awareness and engagement of community based organisations within various localities to enlighten them on the benefits of harnessing municipal solid waste for conservation of natural resources, reduction of greenhouse gas emission, energy generation, creation of jobs, economic opportunities and reduction of waste disposal cost.

The state government needs to review the sanitation or waste disposal law  that will encompass all aspects of waste management system with a view to ensure compliance.

Lastly, the committee should take into consideration climate resilient waste management system in the operational design and implementation of waste management system in order to adapt to and mitigate the impacts of climate change.

 

Abubakar Sani, environmental planner, can be reached abunamu72@gmail.com