With the rise in plastic usage and a growing population, Cameroon's waste processing industry is struggling to keep up with the increasing demand. This has given rise to an informal waste processing sector where children, teens, and older individuals are making a living by sorting through household waste, dumpsters, and landfills and collecting plastic waste for recycling companies.
Cameroon has a population of over 29 million people, with approximately 3.3 million inhabitants in Yaoundé, the country's political capital and one of its largest cities. According to a report published by Landfillsolutions, the nation produces an estimated 600,000 tons of plastic waste annually. This includes plastic bottles, bags, food packaging, furniture, plastic pipes, toys, and more.
Despite numerous recycling initiatives by the government and private stakeholders nationwide, there is not enough formal capacity to meet the city's waste demand and a significant amount of waste continues to flood the streets of Yaoundé daily, causing a range of negative environmental and health impacts.
Of the millions of tons of plastic waste produced each year, less than 10 percent can be recycled, leaving more than half to be dumped in landfills while the remainder is littered along roads, in bodies of water, or incinerated. This practice can lead to land pollution and poisoning, suffocates aquatic ecosystems, and contributes to ozone layer depletion.
Amid efforts to reduce plastic waste, a collaboration has emerged between individuals and private recycling enterprises in Yaoundé, where individuals transport household waste from people's homes to dumpsters and from dumpsters to recyclers. Children, teens, and even older individuals play various roles at each stage.
Hearing the phrase “vider poubelle,” which translates from French to “empty your bin,” daily in neighborhoods like Obili, Ngoa-Ekele, and Biyem-Assi in Yaoundé is commonplace. Teenagers walk the streets yelling this phrase to alert people that they've arrived to collect their trash. The kids charge between FCFA 50 and 500 (USD 0.09–89), depending on the amount of waste. These children recount that they can reach about eleven households a day when the weather is favorable. They also say they engage in this activity to earn an income to help support their households.
When household waste is emptied at major trash can points in the city, others scout these areas day in and day out for recyclables amidst a sea of waste. Romeo Toukan Fotso, a waste collector, recounts to Global Voices:
After spending over a year in this work, he states that it helps him meet his needs. He adds:
Dumpster searchers say they spend between 10 to 12 hours daily in pursuit of valuable items. According to them, the long hours can occasionally lead to a pricy payoff, so they leave no stone unturned.
Marc Monkam, Regional Director for NAMé Recycling — an enterprise dedicated to monetizing plastic waste, explained that they have established a network of independent collectors who sign an agreement that grants them the status of “NAMé collector.” He told Global Voices:
He adds that the collected plastic waste undergoes a treatment process and is transformed into two finished products: strapping rolls from PET(Polyethylene Terephthalate) plastic, which are used to stabilize goods like logs of wood, for easy transportation. Another finished product includes heavy-duty plastic pallets made from HDPE (High-Density Polyethylene) plastic, which are used in logistics industries. He says:
These informal workers have come to play a crucial role in supplementing the country's formal waste processing industry; however, the work doesn't come without its risks and drawbacks.
Various health risks arise over time from this industry, as more than half of those scouting for plastics in dumpsters do not wear protective gear or facemasks. They spend hours inhaling pungent odors caused by both natural and chemically induced processes. Health experts warn that this can lead to severe respiratory and gastrointestinal infections while increasing the risk of contracting airborne diseases like cholera. Many who venture into this line of work without precautions report consuming locally cooked herbs called “soukoudai” or drinking four to five tins of unsweetened evaporated (Peak) milk weekly to boost their immune system. However, Erica Nenyoh, a Medical Laboratory Technician at the Jomarfor Health Clinic in the South West Region of Cameroon, states:
A blog by the American Lung Association has revealed that waste pickers exposed to plastic fibers can experience lung problems and reduced lung capacity over time. Experts recommend wearing face masks and gloves to avoid direct contact with waste and prevent respiratory issues.
In Cameroon, a joint ministerial decree signed by the Ministries of the Environment and Commerce in 2012 prohibited the production, importation, possession, commercialization, and free distribution of non-biodegradable plastics with a density equal to or less than 60 microns in thickness. This is because such plastics are lighter, cannot be recycled, and can easily pollute the earth. Violators of this law face imprisonment of two to ten years and a fine of FCFA 11.2 million (USD 20,000).
With a rapidly growing population and increase in plastic use, a more sustainable means of preserving ecosystems has emerged through recycling. Conscious citizens do their part by cleaning the environment, properly managing their waste, collecting plastics for recycling while awaiting the government to renew regulations and reduce plastic consumption nationwide.
(GlobalVoices/NS)
This article is republished from GlobalVoices under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
Also Read:
