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2.1 Topic d: Incineration

Incineration and waste-to-energy (WTE) remain little-used options for MSWM in Africa. One energy recovery plant was recently constructed in Tanzania with foreign assistance. If successful in the long run, this experience would show how safe operations at such a facility can be sustained with local resources. Local capacity to sustain safe and efficient operations at such facilities is a key consideration in weighing the appropriateness of this technology for African cities. These considerations include local technical capacity to maintain and service the facility, the availability of basic spare parts, the scheduled replacement of pollution control equipment, and the effective implementation of a monitoring program to protect public health from plant emissions. The Senegalese have conducted research into refuse-derived fuel (RDF). However, implementation of this system faces the same considerations listed above for incinerator technology in general. The high cost of pre-processing RDF poses an additional obstacle to its safe and cost-effective implementation in Africa.

There are medical waste incinerators in some countries. These are present in the major hospitals of cities in South Africa. However, across most of Africa, many such facilities have no environmental controls and often comprise nothing more than combustion of medical and chemical wastes in an oven or open pit.

High capital and operating costs make incineration and WTE inaccessible technologies for most African cities. Another limiting factor is the lack of infrastructure to support this technology. This includes human and mechanical resources as well as institutional controls. Furthermore, incineration in Africa would be infeasible if the waste stream is indeed 70% (wet basis) putrescible organic content. Under these conditions, incineration is likely to be an energy-consuming rather than energy-producing option. Characterization of the MSW stream would first be necessary to establish the feasibility of incineration and WTE from MSW in Africa. To date, such city-specific information is largely unavailable for African cities.

In summary, incineration and WTE presently do not play significant roles in MSWM in Africa. High costs relative to other MSWM options, a limited infrastructure of human, mechanical and institutional resources, and the composition of the waste stream itself, suggest that incineration is an inappropriate technology for Africa now and for the foreseeable future.

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