Achieving Sustainable Solid Waste Management in Sub-Saharan Africa: The Option of Valorisation and Circular Economy Model
Olawale Saburi Folarin
Abstract
Poor solid waste management practices have remained a major form problem in Sub-Saharan Africa. Improper waste disposal such as open dumping is a deliberate, albeit unconscious squandering of valuable feedstock for industrial production. Most wastes are reusable or recyclable, serving as a source of livelihood for the vulnerable and as a source of cheaper raw materials for industries. Although there are several waste management options, the application of life-cycle assessment to waste management practices favours a circular economy and waste valorisation. The developed economies have long embraced circular economy as a sustainable waste management option. There is a need for the developing nations in Sub-Saharan Africa to also move quickly in this direction. The contribution of this waste management approach to the efforts of low-income countries in achieving some of their climate change action obligations, and more importantly, most of their United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) encapsulates the remarkable benefits of circular economy. Although there are different subcategories of solid wastes, the application of circular economy to vehicle tyres and electronic wastes has been considered in this section due to the huge challenges they pose to waste management in developing countries and the invaluable materials that can be recovered from them as feedstocks.