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2.1 Topic e: Landfills

The overwhelming majority of landfills in Africa are open dumps. These facilities are generally located at the perimeter of major urban centers in open lots, wetland areas, or next to surface water sources. Though many municipalities have statutory requirements for the construction and maintenance of landfills these are generally not enforced. In most instances the landfills are owned and operated by the same public agency that is charged with enforcing the standards. Often a lack of financial and human resources, coupled with absent enabling policies, limit the extent to which landfills can be built, operated, and maintained at minimum standards for sanitary practice.

Thus, landfills are generally sited based on considerations of access to collection vehicles rather than hydrological or public health considerations. This practice ranges from cities in the more arid regions of the North such as Algeria, Libya, and Sudan to those in higher rainfall central countries such as Cameroon and Zaire. The environmental and health consequences for water sources at risk are more significant for the latter cities than the former.

At existing landfills management operations are minimal. Most of these facilities are unlined and unfenced. Operating practice generally does not include compaction or the application of daily cover. This may reflect the absence of appropriate equipment or other resources to carry out these practices. Additionally, large numbers of waste pickers may scour the landfills for materials of economic or personal value. The returns from the sale of these materials go to the waste pickers, and not to the agency operating the facility.

Over the past five years some countries, including Egypt and South Africa, have considered policy changes to promote upgraded landfills for their major cities. These facilities would be classified according to the type of waste they receive, their manner of construction, and their operating procedure. Tunisia has shown leadership in developing a nationwide sanitary landfill program. New guidelines for the construction and operation of landfills were issued in South Africa in 1995. The Environmental Council of Zambia also considers linking improved landfilling to upgraded MSW collection services in its 1995 solid waste plan.

Ocean dumping of MSW is banned or restricted by law in most of Africa. This is largely a consequence of restrictions on ocean dumping initially related to hazardous waste under the Lom* (iv) and Bamako Conventions, as well as the London Dumping Convention of 1972. Even though the practice is largely prohibited across Africa, it still occurs to a significant extent in larger coastal cities. Ocean dumping of sewage sludge beyond the 12-mile limit is still practiced. However, in most of coastal West Africa as well as in South Africa, policy changes are under way to phase out this practice.

In summary, landfills in Africa are primarily open dumps without leachate or gas recovery systems. Several are located in ecologically or hydrologically sensitive areas. The landfills are generally operated below the standards of sanitary practice. Waste pickers remove materials of economic value for recycling without a fee to the facility owner and operator. Operation and maintenance costs are provided from municipal budget allocations and often do not cover the full amount needed. The result is substandard and unsafe facilities which pose public health risks and aesthetic burdens to the citizens they are meant to serve. Though the standards of modern sanitary landfills with leachate and gas recovery may be too expensive for most African cities today (they are even too expensive for many municipalities in OECD countries), sound practice in current operations and in the design and siting of new facilities can reduce the risks posed by existing facilities.

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