ASSESSMENT AND APPROPRIATE DESIGN OF INTEGRATED SOLID WASTE
MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS IN KOULIKORO, MALI
By
Lindsey M. Brown
A REPORT
Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of
MASTER OF SCIENCE
Environmental Engineering
MICHIGAN TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY
2010
© Lindsey M. Brown
This report, “Assessment and Appropriate Design of Integrated Solid Waste Management
Systems in Koulikoro, Mali”, is hereby approved in partial fulfillment of the
requirements for the Debree of MASTER OF SCIENCE IN ENVIRONMENTAL
ENGINEERING
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Signatures:
Report Advisor
________________________________________________
Kurtis Paterson
Department Chair
________________________________________________
William Bulleit
Date
________________________________________________
2 Table of Contents
page
List of Figures………………………………………………………………………...
List of Tables ………………………………………………………………………...
Acknowledgements ………………………………………………………………….
Abstract ………………………………………………………………………………
Chapter 1: Integrated Solid Waste Management and Appropriate Design ………….
1.1 Components of an Integrated Solid Waste Management System ………..
1.1.1 Generation ……………………………………………………..
1.1.2 Collection and transportation …………………………………..
1.1.3 Processing ……………………………………………………...
1.1.4 Disposal ………………………………………………………..
1.2 Progression from Open Dumping to Engineered Landfill ……………….
1.3 Appropriate Design Metrics ……………………………………………..
1.3.1 Economic viability analysis ……………………………………
1.3.2 Social desirability considerations ……………………………...
1.3.3 Environmental feasibility assessment ………………………….
1.3.4 Evaluating appropriate design metrics ………………………...
1.4 Solid Waste Management in Africa ……………………………………...
1.5 Project Motivation and Objectives ………………………………………
Chapter 2: Koulikoro region …………………………………………………………
2.1 Topographic, climate, and socio-economic features …………………….
2.2 Current conditions of waste management practices ……………………..
2.2.1 Koulikoro governmental structure ……………………………..
2.2.2 Koulikoro’s waste collection system …………………………..
2.3 Proposed Solutions ………………………………………………………
2.3.1 Solution 1: Waste transfer ……………………………………..
2.3.2 Solution 2: Community involvement ………………………….
2.3.3 Solution 3: Waste – to – energy ………………………………..
2.3.4 Design review ………………………………………………….
Chapter 3: Data and Discussion ……………………………………………………...
3.1 Data Description …………………………………………………………
3.2 Waste collection evaluation ……………………………………………...
3.3 Waste transit site evaluation ……………………………………………..
3.4 Waste collection and transportation evaluation ………………………….
3.3.1 Collection and transportation system using proposed transit
dump …………………………………………………………...
3.3.2 Collection and transportation system using dumpsters ………..
Chapter 4: Future Work and Major Findings ………………………………………..
4.1 Further research ………………………………………………………….
4.2 Further work for Peace Corps Volunteers and development workers …...
4.3 Major findings …………………………………………………………...
References ………………………………………………………………………….
Appendix A: Dump site locations……………………………………………………
Appendix B: Dump site area measurements………………………………………….
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3 List of Figures
Figure 1: Relationship between Gross Domestic Product and urban population with
Mali highlighted …………………………………………………………...
Figure 2: Relationship between Gross Domestic Product and family size with Mali
highlighted ………………………………………………………………...
Figure 3: Map of Mali, West Africa …………………………………………………
Figure 4: Map of Africa ……………………………………………………………...
Figure 5: Satellite image of the city of Koulikoro …………………………………...
Figure 6: Example of typical solid waste receptacle ……………………………..….
Figure 7: Example of open dumping in Koulikoro, Mali ……………………………
Figure 8: Proposed transit dumpsites for the city of Koulikoro, Mali ……………….
Figure 9: Satellite image of Koulikoro and open dumpsites ……………………….
Figure 10: Size distribution of open dumps in the city of Koulikoro, Mali
Figure 11: Example of unofficial dumpsite in Koulikoro, Mali ……………………..
Figure 12: Open dumps located in the district of Koulikoroba ……………………...
Figure 13: Open dumps located in the district of Kolebougou ………………………
Figure 14: Open dumps located in the district of Koulikoro Gare …………………..
Figure 15: Proposed transit dump site for Koulikoro Gare …………………………
Figure 16: Example of vehicle routing for the district of Souban, Koulikoro ……….
Figure 17: Proposed dumpster and bin placement for alternative collection plan in
the district of Souban …………………………………………………….
Figure 18: Open dump sites in the district of Souban….….….….….….….….….…
Figure 19: Open dump sites in the district of Koulikoroba….….….….….….….….
Figure 20: Open dump sites in the district of Kolebougou….….….….….….….….
Figure 21: Open dump sites in the southern part of the district of Koulikoro gare….
Figure 22: Open dump sites in the northern part of the district of Koulikogo gare....
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4 List of Tables
Table 1: South Africa’s Minimum Requirements landfill classification system …….
Table 2: Waste generation rates in African cities ……………………………………
Table 3: Gross National Product and waste management expenditure data …………
Table 4: Waste profile of Koulikoro, Mali …………………………………………..
Table 5: Proposed budget for AAFN (2003) solid waste management project plan ...
Table 6: AAFN (2003) proposed funding sources …………………………………..
Table 7: Summary of proposed solutions ……………………………………………
Table 8: Population and waste generation data for the city of Koulikoro …………...
Table 9: Distribution of open dumpsites in four districts of Koulikoro, Mali ……….
Table 10: Daily mass estimations ……………………………………………………
Table 11: established values for area, generation rate, density and depth …………...
Table 12: Population growth data in Koulikoro, Mali ……………………………….
Table 13: Waste generation rates of some Asian Countries, sorted by ascending
Gross National Income (GNI) …………………………………………….
Table 14: Waste generation rates and income ……………………………………….
Table 15: Estimated volume of daily waste generation data ………………………...
Table 16: Waste generation rates as a percentage for select districts of Koulikoro,
Mali ………………………………………………………………………..
Table 17: Redistribution of donkey carts in Koulikoro ……………………………...
Table 18: Assessment of proposed landfill sites …………………………………….
Table 19: Advantages and disadvantages of dumpsters and landfills ……………….
Table 20: Summary of ISWM design features ………………………………………
Table 21: Major findings …………………………………………………………….
Table 22: Area of each unofficial dump sites in Koulikoro, Mali as measured by
GPS………………………………………………………………………….
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5 Acknowledgements
I would like to thank my advisor Kurt Paterson for his flexibility in working with me
while I was in Mali. His trip to Mali and the resources he brought with him were much
appreciated.
I would like to thank professors Jim Mihelcic and Kathy Halvorsen for serving on my
defense committee.
Thank you to the Malians who gave me reason to stay for three years. My counterpart,
Gabriel Bengaly, you helped me more than I could ever hope to repay. Thank you to my
colleagues with the DRACPN, especially Director Moussa Cissoko and my counterparts
Mohamed Ag Aghati and Ousmane Sanogo. I would also like to thank my friends in
Mali who, without question, took me into their homes and called me their sister,
especially Aissaita Coulibaly, Rokia Coulibaly and Nene Bagayoko.
Many thanks to Peace Corps Mali staff especially Associate Peace Corps Director of
Water and Sanitation, Haoua Traore, and Country Director, Mike Simcik as well as
Alyssa Karp, Jolie Dennis and Kris Hoffer. You make it look so easy and I could not
have done three years without you.
Thank you to my teammates in the Koulikoro region. Amber Gladney and Audrey
Respet, you were always so wonderful to have around. Thank you, Brendan Held for
talking about research with me and, of course, coining the term “geo-trashing”. Thank
you, Natasha Oxenburgh for going on long walks through piles of trash with me. Thank
you to all Peace Corps Mali Volunteers for the kind of support you just cannot find
anywhere else.
Finally, thank you to my family for always supporting me no matter what.
6 List of Abbreviations
AAFN
Association des Amis du Fleuve Niger
BOOT
Build Own Operate Energy
CAP
Centre d’Animation Pédagogique
DRACPN
Direction Regionale d’Assainissement et du Control des Pollutions et des
Nuisances
EA
Environmental Assessment
EPA
Environmental Protection Agency
GDP
Gross Domestic Product
GIE
Group d’Interet Economique
GPS
Global Positioning Satellite
GTZ
Gesellschaft fur Technische Zusammenarbeit
HUICOMA Huilerie Cotonnière du Mali
ISWM
Integrated Solid Waste Management
LEED
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design
NGO
Non-Governmental Organization
PSA
Plan Strategique d’Assainissement
SDAU
Schéma Directeur d’Aménagement et d’Urbanisme
USGBC
United States Green Building Council
WTE
Waste to Energy
7 Abstract
A growing issue in developing countries is the effective design of solid waste
management systems; urbanization and increasing populations in cities only exacerbate
this problem. Proper solid waste management systems directly impact a community’s
quality of life as they can prevent disease and have been shown to improve the general
morale of a community (Mihelcic 2009). African countries see some of the worst systems
due to inadequate regulations, use of inappropriate guidelines and lack of quality
equipment or training.
This report begins by establishing the components of an Integrated Solid Waste
Management (ISWM) system and how they differ between developing and industrialized
countries. Issues pertaining to implementing ISWM systems in developing countries are
framed with appropriate design factors of social desirability, economic viability and
environmental feasibility. This study focuses on the city of Koulikoro, Mali which has
seen two failed system proposals since 2004. Nearby, Bamako, the national capital, is
struggling to establish new waste management infrastructures. This study analyzes these
three systems within the framework of appropriate design.
The three main objectives of this research report are to examine current solid waste
management conditions in Koulikoro, Mali, determine the appropriateness of current and
proposed practices, and suggest additional appropriate options. Global Positioning
Satellite (GPS) data was collected to identify the location and relative size of 133 dump
sites throughout the city. This field data is compared with the data that the city uses to
design the proposed ISWM systems. The city’s proposed transit dumpsites are analyzed
using GPS data and the regulations stipulated by the city. Finally, two collection and
transportation options are presented that compare the use of the proposed transit sites and
the use of dumpsters.
8 Chapter 1: Integrated Solid Waste Management and Appropriate
Design
A growing issue in developing countries is the effective design of solid waste
management systems; urbanization and increasing populations in cities only exacerbate
this problem. Proper solid waste management systems directly impact a community’s
quality of life as they can prevent disease and have been shown to improve the general
morale of a community (Mihelcic 2009). African countries see some of the worst systems
due to inadequate regulations, use of inappropriate guidelines and lack of quality
equipment or training. This study focuses on the city of Koulikoro, Mali which has seen
two failed system proposals since 2004. Nearby, Bamako, the national capital, is
struggling to establish new waste management infrastructures. The specific objective of
this work is to develop an appropriate waste collection scheme to allow the city of
Koulikoro to effectively progress from open dumping to sanitary landfill. In order to
achieve this objective, appropriate design is defined and applied to solid waste
management systems. This paper also discusses appropriate alternatives to the current
solid waste collection and transportation system in Koulikoro, Mali.
1.1 Components of an Integrated Solid Waste Management System
An Integrated Solid Waste Management system (ISWM) is a series of subsystems that effectively reduce the risks associated with uncontrolled solid waste. An
ISWM connects waste generation to collection and transportation then processing before
final disposal (Ministere de l’environnement et de l’assainissement 2006).
1.1.1
Generation
The management of solid waste begins by looking at how it is generated. Sources of
waste include residential, biomedical, agricultural, commercial and industrial (Ministere
de l’environnement et de l’assainissement 2006). In developing countries a large
percentage of the waste is organic due to higher proportions of agricultural wastes
thereby increasing the density of the waste. The density of waste in developed countries,
ranges from 150-200 kg/m3 whereas in developing countries it can be as high as 600
kg/m3 (Mihelcic 2009 and Schertenleib 1992).
9 The income of a country also affects the rate at which waste is generated. Generally,
those with higher incomes will produce more waste and solid waste management is more
of an issue in larger cities than in smaller villages (Van Beukering 1999). For high
income countries generation rates average 0.6 T/c/yr. For lower and middle-income
countries, this rate is halved and ranges from 0.2-0.3 T/c/yr. (Cointreau-Levine 1994).
Also contributing to lower generation rates is the number of people in a household. As
this number increases the generation rate per person decreases (Mihelcic 2009). Lower
generation rates in lower income countries are evidence of this, as there are usually more
people in one household in lower income countries. The following two figures put Mali
in context with the rest of the world in terms of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in
relationship with urban populations and family sizes. Mali has a lower GDP which
corresponds with a lower urban population and larger families.
Figure 1: Relationship between GDP and urban population with Mali highlighted
(used with permission from Google 2008)
10 Figure 2: Relationship between GDP and family size with Mali Highlighted (used
with permission from Google 2008)
1.1.2 Collection and Transportation
The collection, transfer, and transportation phase of ISWM is complex, and there are
many conditions specific to developing countries that make it difficult to implement the
traditional collection methods used in more developed countries. For example, the
increased densities of solid waste in developing countries cannot be loaded into the
conventional collection vehicles from industrialized nations (Van Beukering 1999). Sand
is another issue; the excess sand in developing countries puts additional wear and tear on
the vehicles that they are not built to handle. Traditional solid waste trucks are too big to
maneuver through the small, unpaved streets of a developing city. Consequently, transfer
and transportation vehicles commonly used in developing countries include donkey and
hand carts. These carts are small and can easily maneuver throughout the irregular roads
and paths through a developing city. The service provided by donkey and hand carts is
considered “primary” collection; it picks up waste from homes and transports it to transit
sites. Service between transit sites and final dumps is considered “secondary” collection,
and this usually requires foreign vehicles (Bartone 1990). These issues result in low
collection rates and poor service. In urban areas, collection services pick up 50-70% of
11 refuse and serve less than half of the population (Schertenleib 1992). While 90% of
industrialized nations have waste collection services, in developing countries they are less
common, often using Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) or community-based
organizations for collection and disposal services (Van Beukering 1999).
1.1.3 Processing
Processing involves anything that happens to waste from the time it is generated until the
time it reaches its final disposal location, including resource recovery and recycling. The
potential for resource recovery is affected by the cost of the separated material, its purity,
quantity and a location (Zurbrugg 2003). One method of waste recovery is composting;
at least fifty percent of waste generated in developing countries is organic and can be
recovered for compost (Zurbrugg 2003). One problem with composting is the increased
presence of “strange global products” in composting manure, rendering it useless for
farmers (Achankeng 2003). In developing countries it is also common to find waste
pickers and scavengers that will play a significant role in waste reduction. In some cases,
scavengers set up shanty towns on or near the dump site and can recover as much as 15%
of total waste generated (Van Beukering 1999). While waste pickers serve to reduce the
total amount of solid waste to be treated, they can also disrupt landfill operations such as
compaction and cover (Johannessen 1999). Setting up official recycling programs as a
means of waste reduction can be difficult in developing countries because government
policies and finances act as a barrier (Post 2010). Troschinetz and Mihelcic (2008)
identify 12 barriers influencing recycling in developing countries including: government
policy, government finances, waste characterization, waste collection and segregation,
household education, household economics, MSWM administration, SWM personnel
education, MSWM plan, local recycled-material market, technological and human
resources, and land availability.
While waste recovery and recycling mainly addresses domestic wastes, hazardous and
medical wastes must also be specially processed. This includes the technical equipment
and processes that are necessary for at source separation (Schubeler 1996). Providing
better methods of storage and training staff to be familiar with the technical equipment
12 are also required. The effectiveness of a hazardous waste disposal system depends on
technology, legislation, enforcement and funding (Zurbrugg 2003). An unfortunate result
of the lack of stringent regulations on hazardous materials in developing countries is that
industrialized countries ship their hazardous materials to dispose of them in developing
countries (Zurbrugg 2003).
1.1.4 Disposal
Finally, waste arrives at its final disposal site. One of the most important decisions in
designing a solid wast management system is the selection of this site. A good site has
good drainage, available soil for cover, and access for transportation. It is visually hidden
and away from floodplains, fault lines, airports, and wetlands (Mihelcic 2009). It is also
important to keep the landfill relatively close to collection points as the farther away it is,
the more expensive transportation costs become (Zurbrugg 2003). Disposal options
should also include a method for treatment of leachate. Entombment prevents water from
reaching waste at all. This reduces the degradability and is not ideal for the long term.
Containment methods store and treat leachate before discharging it back into the
environment. The landfill is lined with impermeable layers to trap and contain the
leachate within the landfill. While this method is convenient, there are several
disadvantages to simply containing leachate. Primarily, there is no guarantee on the
effectiveness of the liners. Liners may break or leak, allowing toxic leachate to infiltrate
the groundwater system. Another problem with the containment theory is that it does not
allow for decomposition (Allen 2001). In controlled containment release leachate enters
the environment in such a way that it has minimal impact (Johannessen 1999). Natural
alternatives to leachate management include “dilute and disperse” and hydraulic traps.
To incorporate these techniques a geologic and hydraulic assessment is needed as a
geological barrier is necessary for leachate attenuation (Allen 2001). In this method,
groundwater is fed into the landfill, diluting the leachate before it leaves (Allen 2001).
Incorporating all of these components into an appropriate disposal system is difficult and
often systems in developing countries are inadequate. Many municipal officials are
unaware of the need for controlled waste disposal or only have access to guidelines for
13 landfills from industrialized nations that are not appropriate to use in developing
countries (Zurbrugg 2003). As a result, in developing countries it is most common to
pitch your household wastes onto a neighboring open dump or to burn it openly in a
drum. There are several consequences associated with these forms of disposal. Because
of the high organic content in waste in developing countries, openly dumping waste will
attract a lot of vermin and flies that serve as disease spreading vectors. Further, 10-20%
of waste ends up as litter in developing countries that can end up flooding gutters and
sewer systems (Mihelcic 2009). While burning solid waste will reduce the incidence of
issues such as vermin and flooding associated with open dumping, it increases the risk of
exposing residents to harmful air pollutants (Mihelcic 2008).
1.2 Progression from Open Dumping to Engineered Landfill
Landfills in developing countries range from simple to sophisticated, inexpensive to
costly, and potentially harmful to benign. The most basic system, and what most
developing countries use, is an informal system called “open dumping”. While this is a
convenient form of solid waste disposal, there are many sanitary issues associated with it.
Because the dumps are not covered or enclosed, the solid waste can be easily spread by
the wind or other elements. Disease-spreading vectors like rats and flies are also easily
able to infiltrate the dump, and an unpleasant smell often emanates from such sites. For
these and other reasons communities would benefit to move from open dumping to an
operated, or semi-controlled, dump.
A semi-controlled dump is similar to an open dump in that it is not constructed and does
not incorporate environmental protection measures. The difference is that semicontrolled dumps may inspect and record incoming waste for the purpose of properly
placing and compacting the waste within the dump (Johannessen 1999). A semicontrolled dump can be upgraded to an engineered landfill.
An engineered landfill involves infrastructure that open dumps and semi-controlled
dumps do not. Engineered landfills use liners, contain leachate and incorporate some
level of leachate treatment. Gas is managed with passive ventilation or flaring. Similar
14 to semi-controlled dumps, waste is registered, placed and compacted. An engineered
landfill also uses a daily soil cover (Johannessen 1999).
Beyond engineered landfills, sanitary landfills are more complex and are used in
developed nations to manage solid waste. Sanitary landfills require proper siting and
infrastructure (Johannessen 1999). Sanitary landfills can be constructed using different
methods. A hillside can be used as a disposal site, or in the depression method an
existing canyon or ravine can be filled in. Where groundwater permits, a trench can also
be dug and filled in as with the depression method. When the topography does not allow
for these methods, the area method can be used in which an engineered “berm” is
constructed and refuse is disposed of in layers (Mihelcic 2009). Regardless of sanitary
disposal method, a cover layer is necessary to protect the surrounding environment from
windblown solid waste and minimize pests. In the end daily cover will amount to at least
half of the volume of the landfill (Johannessen 1999). In addition to adding a daily cover
layer, sanitary landfills also incorporate a leachate management system such as
containment or using a hydraulic trap. Gas is managed with flaring. Similar to
engineered landfills, sanitary landfills register waste for the purpose of placement and
compaction. In addition to a daily cover, sanitary landfills also require a final top cover
upon closure (Johannessen 1999).
1.3 Appropriate Design Metrics
Appropriate design metrics fall into three categories: feasibility, viability, and
desirability. Appropriate design, or “human-centered design”, focuses on the individual
and when designing an appropriate solid waste management system, failure to consider
one of these three components will result in a less effective system. A thorough
assessment of a community’s economic and social situation as well as the environmental
constraints is necessary for the design of an effective system. The assessment of these
three factors in terms of appropriate design is especially important when designing for
developing countries. The systems developed in industrialized nations often cannot be
directly transferred to developing countries because of differences in these three factors
(Van Beukering 1999).
15 1.3.1 Economic Viability Analysis
An economic viability analysis addresses productivity and development, effectiveness,
efficiency, and job creation (Schubeler 1996). It generally begins with asking “what are
the costs and benefits?” From there more specific questions are asked to ascertain details
of the economics of the solid waste management system itself and the effects it has on the
community and individuals within the community. Both implementation and operation
must be addressed. Can the community afford the implementation of a new system? This
includes construction of the entire system as well as any new infrastructure such as
temporary service roads or permanent access roads. Further, once the system is in place,
can the community afford to operate and maintain the system and how will they plan to
sustain it? Can the community afford tipping and collection fees? This is important to
consider because some communities see the successful completion of a new landfill, but
it quickly deteriorates as they struggle to maintain it. For instance, donated equipment
for a landfill in Jakarta, Indonesia could not be used because its operational costs could
not be covered by the landfill’s budget (Johannessen 1999). One example of a possible
way to mitigate this risk comes from Fiji. Landowners of the Naboro Landfill have
shares in the company running the system (Bernstein 2004). Continue an economic
viability assessment with questions like, “Aside from construction, material and operation
costs, are there other costs to the economic situation of the community?” In many
developing countries, the livelihood of a community of scavengers depends on the waste
produced in the city. “Will implementing a new waste management system displace any
scavenging communities?” Taking this economic issue into consideration, designers of
the Marianhill landfill in Durban, South Africa instituted a scavenger registration system.
Instead of displacing 100 to 200 people who can earn more than $75/month, the
Marianhill landfill allows scavengers during certain hours of the day when they will not
interfere with landfill compaction operations (Johannessen 1999). After thoroughly
assessing the costs of implementing an ISWM system, the benefits must also be assessed.
Generally, “does the design improve, promote or initiate any economic gaining
activities?” and “How many jobs does the new system create and what is the skill level
required to perform these jobs?”
16 1.3.2 Social Desirability Considerations
Apart from the economic issues related to the implementation and operation of an ISWM
project, there are many social issues that should also be considered. Berstein (2004)
identifies five “entry points” of social assessment:
(1) social diversity and gender
(2) institution, rules, and behavior
(3) stakeholders
(4) participation
(5) social risks
Identifying key social desirability dimensions requires knowing how the community will
be affected, both directly and indirectly (Bernstein 2004). One factor pertaining to
diversity and gender is that women are the ones dealing with the waste. Keeping them
involved in all aspects of planning and implementation creates a more socially desirable
system (Schubeler 1999). Furthermore, it is important to consider what the community
already does to manage their waste. Straying too far from existing and understood
methods can cause problems in the implementation process. Improving existing dump
sites is more socially desirable than constructing new sites in a location unfamiliar or far
from the community. Further, if extremely poor practices occur at existing landfills, the
community may be reluctant to construct new ones because they will fear that the same
poor practices will occur at the new site. This was a major deterrent for developing a
new landfill in Sulawesi, Indonesia (Bernstein 2004). The willingness of the community
must also be considered in the social desirability assessment. One way to enhance
willingness is to keep the community involved throughout the entire design, planning,
and implementation process. For illiterate communities this may involve more direct
contact through public meetings, interviews, and focus groups (Bernstein 2004). In
addition to addressing the willingness of the community, public participation can address
another important desirability aspect: how well the community understands the purpose
and benefits of the new methods. This is important because if the community does not
17 understand the benefits of an improved ISWM, they are likely to disregard it and
continue using the dangerous and unhygienic existing systems. This posed a problem in
Southeastern Anatolia, Turkey where residents protested the new SWM project because
they believed that it would harm their children and animals, contaminate their water
source, and generate flies, noise, and dust (Bernstein 2004). Cultural traditions must also
be taken into consideration during construction so as not to disturb land inhabited by
tribal peoples, cultural heritage sites, archaeological digs, historical settlements or
monuments (Bernstein 2004). For example, in Indonesia, there are unique landownership
traditions that had to be taken into account when siting the Tana Toraja landfill
(Bernstein 2004).
1.3.3 Environmental Feasibility Assessment
The last component of appropriate design is environmental feasibility, a complex factor
for which different countries have different standards and regulations. The World Bank’s
Environmental Assessment (EA) policy classifies projects based on environmental
impacts and stipulates guidelines accordingly. Because landfills are likely to have
“significant adverse environmental impacts”, the World Bank advises that municipalities
involve NGOs and other community groups by providing them with:
•
Summary of project objectives, design and impacts
•
Draft of the environmental assessment’s conclusions
•
Any other relevant materials (Bernstein 2004).
South Africa’s “Minimum Requirements” pertain to the environmental assessment
related to landfill projects; many African countries use this as a model (Johannessen
1999). These Minimum Requirements classify landfills according to waste type, size of
waste stream and climatic water balance. Table 1 summarizes the key points of this
classification system.
18 Table 1: South Africa's Minimum Requirements landfill classification system
(Fourie 2004)
Type
(waste stream)
Size
(Maximum Rate
Deposition tonnes/day)
C
Climatic water balance
(leachate generation)
(Communal MRD < 25)
B+
G
S
(significant leachate
(general including MSW)
(Small 25<MRD<150)
generation)
H
M
B-
(hazardous waste)
(Medium 150<MRD<500)
(no significant leachate
L
generation)
(Large MRD>500)
For each classification category (type, size and climatic water balance) one of the
corresponding letters is selected based on what best describes the landfill. The result is a
three-letter designation. For example, a large urban landfill accepting general waste in
Johannesburg, a city in the arid part of the country is designated as GLB- (Fourie 2004).
Regardless of who is setting the regulatory standards, an environmental feasibility
assessment takes into account the impact of a project on the air, water, and land
resources. An environmental assessment concerning a landfill project asks “will the
project improve or degrade current water conditions?” From here, decisions can be made
as far as whether or not to incorporate leachate treatment. Similarly, “does the project
impact air conditions” and “does the project improve the current solid waste management
conditions?” Climate and hydraulic criteria will stipulate that winds are managed (via
berms, vegetative barriers, etc.) such that solid waste is not spread offsite (Ministere de
l’environnement et de l’assainissement 2006). Additionally, details are addressed
pertaining to whether or not the project will minimize the effect of disease-spreading
vectors such as vermin and flies. An effective environmental feasibility assessment is
vast and includes field studies, legislative and regulatory considerations, and an analysis
of alternatives. In analyzing alternatives it is also key to consider the “no-action
alternative” (World Bank). In order for such a vast assessment to be thorough, the public
19 should be involved through meetings, focus groups and interviews (Bernstein 2004).
With a solid waste management project in the Eastern Caribbean, the public was able to
protect the Grenada Dove, an endangered species that had been overlooked in the
environmental assessment (Bernstein 2004).
1.3.4 Evaluating Appropriate Design Metrics
In appropriately designing an ISWM system all viability, desirability and feasibility
aspects must be considered; however in order to determine the extent to which something
is “appropriate”, a rating system must be developed. This can be approached in different
ways.
The United States Green Building Council (USGBC) uses Leadership in Energy and
Environmental Design (LEED), a point-based system designed to determine the
sustainable merit of building projects. A fairly complex rating system, LEED awards
points to projects for incorporating sustainable design features. Foremost, these features
are deemed sustainable based on the impact they have on the environment (USGBC
2010). For example, incorporating a green roof on the building warrants a positive
“credit” because it re-introduces plants into a site where they had been potentially
removed for the purpose of construction, reduces rainwater runoff, provides insulation
and combats the effect of urban heat islands. LEED also considers social factors by
awarding credits for the addition of design features such as extra bike-racks on the
building’s premises. While most LEED credits focus on environmental and social
factors, economic factors are considered as a byproduct given that the more energy
efficient a building is, the more economically efficient it will be as well. Unfortunately,
LEED does not consider many aspects from the user’s or community’s perspectives, nor
prescribe a path for their inclusion in the design sequence, hence it is better at influencing
sustainable design rather than appropriate design.
While the LEED system is specific to construction projects in the United States,
McConville (2006) proposes a rating system more appropriate for international water and
sanitation projects. In order to develop a matrix-based rating system, McConville
analyzes five sustainability factors by applying life cycle thinking:
20 1) socio-cultural respect
2) community participation
3) political cohesion
4) economic sustainability and
5) environmental sustainability
Each factor is rated based on a series of five specific questions and then scored between
one and four (worst to best). Combining the scores for the resulting twenty-five elements
yields a total score out of 100, and development projects can be compared based on this
scale. McConville’s (2006) system provides a way to compare development projects to
each other.
1.4 Solid Waste Management in Africa
As globalization and urbanization increase throughout the world, countries in Africa do
not always benefit. In fact, the ISWM systems in these countries suffer more from
globalization than they profit (Achangkeng 2003). Urbanization impacts waste
generation rates in the cities, and it increases the demand on already fragile systems. As
seen in Table 2, waste generation rates in Africa’s larger cities range from 0.3-1.4
kg/capita/day and average 0.78 kg/person/day as compared with 1.22 kg/person/day for
developed countries (Achangkeng 2003). Because these values come from Africa’s major
cities they may not be representative of the nation as a whole. Including data from more
rural African areas may decrease the national average because generation increases with
the move from rural to urban (Zurbrugg 2002).
21 Table 2: Waste generation rates in African cities (Achangkeng 2003)
Solid Waste Households
generated
with solid
(kg/person- waste
Population
Country
City Name
day)
collection (%) (millions)
Benin
Porto Novo
0.5
25
0.6
Burkina Faso Ougadougou
0.7
40
1.6
Burundi
Bujumbara
1.4
41
-Cameroon
Douala
0.7
60
1.1
Yaounde
0.8
44
1.0
Congo, DR
Kinshasa
1.2
0
6.3
Congo
Republic
Brazzaville
0.6
72
0.9
Cote d'Ivoire Abidjan
1.0
72
3.4
Egypt
Cairo
0.5
65
14.5
Gambia, The Banjul
0.3
35
0.5
Ghana
Accra
0.4
60
1.7
Guinea
Conakry
0.7
50
1.3
Mauritania
Nouakchott
0.9
15
0.6
Morocco
Rabat
0.6
90
1.6
Namibia
Windhock
0.7
93
-Niger
Niamey
1.0
25
0.5
Nigeria
Ibadan
1.1
40
2.0
Lagos
0.3
8
8.0
Senegal
Dakar
0.7
36
2.3
Dar es
Salaam
Tanzania
1.0
25
2.3
Togo
Lome
1.9
27
0.8
Tunisia
Tunis
0.5
61
1.8
Uganda
Kampala
0.6
20
0.8
Zimbabwe
Harare
0.7
100
1.5
Another increasingly common waste source adding variety to the waste stream is “Ewaste”, or discarded electronics received from industrialized nations. Even with added
levels of waste due to urbanization, in some cases as little as 20% of the waste is being
collected and properly disposed (Achangkeng 2003). In Ghana, only 11% of residents
had home collection services in 1992 and 15% openly dumped on empty land, waterways
and gutters (Boadi 2003). Recognizing this issue, 0.17% of the GNP was spent on waste
management in 1994 (Boadi 2003). Table 3 presents GNP and waste expenditure data
for 14 cities in both industrialized and developing countries. Of these cities, Accra,
22 Ghana has one of the lowest solid waste expenditure rates (Williams 2005). This data,
however, does not suggest a strong correlation between GNP and money spent on solid
waste management or the efficiency with which the money is being spent.
Table 3: GNP and waste management expenditure data (Williams 2005)
City
Year
Hanoi, Vietnam
Dhaka, Tamil Nadu India
Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India
Chennai, Hungary
Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
Accra, Ghana
Bucharest, Romania
Bogata, Colombia
Riga, Latvia
Budapest, Hungary
Sydney, Australia
Toronto, Canada
New York, U.S.A.
Strasbourg, France
1994
1995
1995
1995
1995
1994
1995
1994
1995
1995
1995
1994
1992
1995
GNP/capita
(USD/yr)
250
270
350
350
350
390
1450
1620
2420
4130
18,720
19,510
23,240
24,990
%GNP spent on waste
0.80
0.54
0.46
0.51
1.12
0.17
0.16
0.48
0.25
0.33
0.20
0.25
0.42
0.25
This lack of funding from the government, along with globalization pushing cities toward
more expensive privatized solid waste management, encourages the use of informal
methods of solid waste management (Achangkeng 2003). Women’s groups can be
effective at informally managing waste. In Ouagadougou, Burkina Fasso, a women’s
association named Wogodogo collected waste to produce compost that was sold to hotels
for their gardens (Eaton 2003). In Ghana, migrant women act as waste carriers,
collecting household wastes for fees and taking it to waste container sites or unauthorized
dumps (Boadi 2003). Another contributor to this informal sector are scavengers that pick
through discarded waste to recover valuables that can later be sold for a profit. Still
operating as a part of the informal sector, the “Zabbaleen” serve the city of Cairo, Egypt
by collecting, hauling, sorting, classifying and reusing 45% of the municipal solid waste
generated daily in the city. This group has 12,000 members living in seven communities
of Cairo (Schertenleib 1992).
23 Beyond generation, collection and processing, African countries struggle with
implementing appropriate disposal options. Appropriate site selection guidelines are
rarely used and few countries incorporate leachate and gas management. South Africa
and Egypt have some of the most developed systems in Africa. Landfills in South Africa
adhere to guidelines established with the Minimum Requirements and are classified
according to waste types, size of waste stream, and climatic water balance.
Classifications according to climatic water balance depend on leachate generation; in arid
and semi-arid areas, leachate treatment is not required. The Marianhill landfill in
Durban, South Africa is an example of an advanced sanitary with a multi-barrier
composite liner composed of 500 mm of compacted clay, 2 mm HPDE liner, geofabric, a
second layer of compacted clay and a 300 mm layer of coarse gravel and stone drainage
that acts as a protection layer. Leachate is collected, biologically treated and released to a
sewage treatment facility (Johannessen 1999). Some African countries, like Botswana
and Ghana, plan their landfill projects using South Africa’s Minimum Requirements
guidelines as a model.
Egypt has a site selection method that uses twelve geographic information layers
corresponding to criteria as follows (Karkazi):
1. Primary roads network
2. Secondary roads network
3. Faults
4. Ports and airports
5. Streams
6. Canals
7. Nile River watershed
8. Protected areas
9. Urban areas
10. Agricultural land
11. Stream Valley
12. Geology-Hydrogeology
The selection methods uses a four step process based upon Boolean logic to determine
appropriate sites: (1) development of exclusion criteria, (2) delineation of exclusion and
inclusion zones, (3) development of inclusion criteria and (4) elaborating on the specific
24 sites that result. One example of a rule used in this process is “if distances from primary
road network and secondary road network are long and distances from protected areas
and urban areas are long and agricultural land is low, then the suitability is appropriate
with 80% certainty.”
1.5 Project Motivation and Objectives
The motivation to study the solid waste management system in the city of Koulikoro,
Mali was encouraged by conversations the author had with local authorities working for
the DRACPN. Her counterparts recognize that solid waste management is an issue in the
city but solving the problem will be a gross financial undertaking. These conversations
prompted the author’s curiosity in the ideal situation for the city as well as identifying the
steps that can be taken on a smaller scale to improve the city’s current conditions.
The general objectives of this study are to:
1. Examine current solid waste management conditions in Koulikoro, Mali
2. Determine the appropriateness of current and proposed practices
3. Suggest additional appropriate options.
General Objective 1 will be achieved with the following specific objectives:
1.1 To collect data of the relative size and location of unofficial open dump sites
using GPS
1.2 To determine relative depth and density of loose waste in the city of Koulikoro,
Mali
General Objective 2 will be achieved with the following specific objectives:
2.1 To compare the collected GPS data with existing data from the city in order to
determine whether or not the city’s proposal for waste transfer is realistic
2.2 To assess the appropriateness of sites for transit dumps as proposed by the city
Finally, general Objective 3 will be achieved with the following specific objectives
25 3.1 To propose collection vehicle routes using the existing unofficial dumpsites as
collection points and maintaining the proposed transit sites and final dump site
3.1 To propose an alternative replacing the transit dumpsites with dumpsters.
26 Chapter 2: Koulikoro region
2.1 Topographic, climate, and socio-economic features
As shown in Figure 3, Mali is in “sub-Saharan” West Africa, and the region of Koulikoro
lies in the southern half of the country as illustrated in Figure 4. In the southern regions of
Mali, the average temperature is cooler and vegetation is more varied than in the north.
In particular, the city of Koulikoro averaged 850-900 mm of rainfall per year between
1993 and 2003, with a high of 1015 mm in 1998 (BETRAP 2004a). In addition to the
climate, there are a number of unique topographic features about the city. About a third
of the city is built on a rocky terrain, while the entire city suffers from stagnant rain water
due to poor drainage infrastructure. Another interesting feature of this city is the river
flowing through it. Figure 5 is satellite image of the city that shows Koulikoro sits on the
Niger River and this plays an important role in the city’s socio-economic status and
available natural resources. Many of the city’s inhabitants are fisherman or work to
dredge sand to sell throughout the region.
Figure 3: Map of Africa with Mali
highlighted (used with permission
from CIA 2010)
Figure 4: Map of Mali with
Koulikoro highlighted (used
with permission CIA 2010)
27 Figure 5: Satellite view of the city of Koulikoro (used with permission from Google 2010)
Located 60 kilometers north of the capital of Mali, Koulikoro is a growing city. With a
population of about 30,000 as recorded in 1998, and a growth rate of 3.44% per year, the
city is projected to be the home of almost 50,000 people by 2014 (BETRAP 2004a).
Koulikoro hosts two large factories, which have a large impact on the socio-economic
status of the city, as the majority (55.5%) of the city’s inhabitants work in industry,
transportation, or administration (BETRAP 2004a).
These socioeconomic factors affect the waste profile of the city. With relatively more
affluent inhabitants in the urban city, a higher waste production rate is expected, and
Koulikoro produces 0.7kg of waste per day per person (BETRAP 2004a). As compared
with waste profiles of smaller, less affluent communities, city populations will see more
plastics and paper wrappers in their waste stream. While this is true, the bulk of the
waste being generated in the city of Koulikoro is sand or organic. Table 4 shows the
breakdown of the waste profile in the city of Koulikoro.
Table 4: Waste profile of Koulikoro, Mali (BETRAP 2004a)
Composition
Sand
Organics
Plastic
Paper
Glass
Metal
Batteries
Other
Mass
fraction
(%)
60-70
20-30
1-2
1
0.5
1
0.5
1-3
This particularly high sand content suggests the community members are not using
efficient collection methods. Rather than placing waste directly into receptacles, waste is
swept from the ground into receptacles along with a large amount of sand. Sand
increases the mass and volume of solid waste that needs to be disposed of, and
incorporating more efficient collection methods can potentially decrease the load on open
dumps.
2.2 Current conditions of waste management practices
While the topographic, climate, and socio-economic features of the city complicate the
implementation of an effective solid waste management system, the city is working to
improve the existing conditions. The government has a system of controls in place to
monitor sanitation practices, implement new systems and inform residents about them.
2.2.1 Koulikoro governmental structure
Koulikoro is divided into ten districts: Kayo, Souban, Kolebougou, Koulikoro Gare,
Plateau I, Plateau II, Plateau III, Koulikoroba, Katibougou, and Centre. These ten
districts are governed by the mayor. In Mali, sanitation services are not privatized, and
the mayor controls services such as solid waste management. This includes servicing the
open gutters running along the main roads throughout the city (BETRAP 2004a). The
municipal roads department employs two laborers and two masons to supervise small
masonry work and clean the markets (BETRAP 2004a). Further, there have been laws in
place since 2001 at the national level regulating environmental impact studies, pollution
control, noise and air pollution management, and means of solid waste management
(BETRAP 2004b). While the mayor of Koulikoro is responsible for sanitation services,
there are several agencies that work together with the mayor; however, the mayor has yet
to institute a coherent system of sanitation management and it becomes a question of
management on the level of the communes (BETRAP 2004b).
The Direction Regional de l’Assainissement et du Controle des Pollution et des
Nuisances (DRACPN) is the overarching governmental sanitation agency throughout
Mali. DRACPN offices exist in each region to monitor the institution of environmental
management policies. This agency does not create new infrastructure, however, it works
to implement and promote proper sanitation practices. For example, the DRACPN is
responsible for fining those that do not comply with sanitation regulations and ensuring
that they improve their practices. While the responsibility of the DRACPN is general
environmental protection, various “operators” from the private sector exist to work more
30 specifically with solid waste management. For example, Groups d’Interet Economique
(GIEs) collaborate with the DRACPN to organize the collection of domestic solid waste.
Three GIEs exist in three of the districts of Koulikoro, however, their activity is minimal
and the mayor does not have a functional link with them (BETRAP 2004a). In addition
to the DRACPN and GIEs, the Hygiene Brigade was created to conduct sensitizations on
sanitation topics (BETRAP 2004a). Three sanitation committees also exist within the
city, but do not function. Women’s groups play an important role in recycling. While
these groups are an important beginning, SWM systems in the city are still rudimentary
and insufficient (BETRAP 2004a)
2.2.2 Koulikoro’s collection system
The city’s existing collection system is sparse and irregular. Households use nonstandardized containers, such as buckets, cartons and ½ barrels ranging in size from 20 to
50 liters and are left uncovered 95% of the time (BETRAP 2004a). Figure 6 shows a
typical waste receptacle.
Figure 6: Typical waste receptacle (photo: author 2010)
31 Beyond the home, there are no community-wide collection logistics, plans, or schedules.
The “Agent Voyer” can request collection by enterprises and the mayor will assure the
payment at a rate of 10,000 CFA (20 USD) for one truck (5-7 m3) of solid waste
removed. A more viable option is working through one of three GIEs or local women’s
groups. These GIEs only work in three of the ten districts of the city. Homeowners can
pay 750 CFA (1.5 USD) each month for the service of solid waste removal, but only
about 35% of households take advantage of this service. More often, children are
charged with taking solid waste to the depots (BETRAP 2004b). The willingness to pay
for waste collection services varies throughout the city but the results of a study show
that the people of Koulikoro contribute to the construction of a functional sanitation
management system either financially or physically (BETRAP 2004b). When surveyed,
an average of 31% of households did not want front door pick up, and a study in Kayo
showed that 71% or households take their waste to their fields or prefer to stock it on
their property for financial reasons (BETRAP 2004b). Of those in favor of front door
collection, 35% are willing to pay 750-1000 CFA (1.50 – 2.00 USD) while 60% want to
maintain the 750 (1.50 USD) and only 5% would like to see it lowered to 500 CFA (1.00
USD).
Another issue with waste collection practices in Koulikoro is that the city does not have
the equipment to deal with the amount of waste produced. Three tractors with 2.5 m3
trailers and three semis with at least 7 m3 capacity sporadically function as collection
vehicles (BETRAP 2004a). Additionally, there are about twenty carts that move less that
30 m3 a day and about fifty general employees who are solicited as needed (BETRAP
2004a).
As a result of this sparse and random collection service, the residents of Koulikoro
openly burn their solid waste or dump it in one of over 120 unofficial open dumps located
throughout the city. An example of one of these unofficial dumps is represented with the
photograph in Figure 7. Based on population estimates and quantities of solid waste
produced in a study by the Gesellschaft fur Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) in 2001,
32 the estimated waste generation rate for this city is 0.7 kg/person-day (BETRAP 2004b).
Most of this waste is not being collected or disposed of properly.
Figure 7: Example of open dumping in Koulikoro, Mali (photo: author 2010)
Because these piles are unprotected, rainwater leaches waste into the groundwater and
runoff carries the solid waste flows directly into the Niger River along with storm water.
33 2.2.3 Hazardous waste management
Aside from domestic wastes, large concerns for the city’s waste management system also
include industrial and hazardous wastes, mainly produced by the Huilerie Cotonniere du
Mali (HUICOMA) oil factory. The waste from the factory is taken to a tank in
Diarerebougou a site not far from the city; however, women come to recollect the wastes
to make soap, a dangerous venture for their health and the environment. This tank is a
hole dating back to the 1970s and is within 30 m of the nearest unimproved well
(BETRAP 2004a). The factory also produces a great deal of waste ash that is supposed
to be collected and stored in 200 L drums. These drums are stored 200 m from the Niger
River. Due to the negligence of the employees, the drums fill up and are not replaced,
and the gases and ash are exposed to the environment, poisoning the river with nickel and
heavy metals. Fishermen notice the impacts of this waste in the rarity of fish at the base
of the river (BETRAP 2004a).
2.3 Proposed Solutions
2.3.1 Solution 1: Waste Transfer
There are several plans by different organizations to solve the long-standing problem of
solid waste management in the city of Koulikoro. Primarily, DRACPN together with
engineers from the Bureau d’Etudes de Batiments et Travaux Publics, (BETRAP) wrote
the Plan Strategique d’Assainissement de Koulikoro (PSA) in 2004. This plan outlines
the city’s biggest issues with solid waste management and provides concrete suggestions
for implementing a functioning solid waste management plan.
DRACPN and BETRAP used the French regulations from the Schéma directeur
d'aménagement et d'urbanisme (SDAU) to establish the location of eight transit dumps
seen in Figure 8.
34 Figure 8: Proposed transit dump sites for the city of Koulikoro, Mali (used with permission from Google 2010)
These eight sites are located throughout the city or Koulikoro, and a final dump site is
proposed 20 km north of the city on the road to Banamba. The first of the eight sites will
service the district of Souban, located southwest of the district. Farther north, a site
located on the old dumpsite of the HUICOMA factory will service the districts of
Kolebougou and Plateau II. Another site is proposed next to the basketball court on the
riverbank, serving Koulikoro Gare and Centre-ville. Serving Plateau I and III is a site in
the Centre d’Animation Pedagogique (CAP) zone southwest of the Centre school and
another one between the Koulikoroba housing development and the military camp
serving Koulikoroba and its extension. An old quarry near the route to Katibougou will
be turned into a dumpsite serving the administrative district of Katibougou. Finally, there
is a site proposed in the northern most part of the city at Kayo between the train tracks
and the hill serving Kayo and any future extensions of the city.
These eight transit dumpsites and the final dump site were located and the mayor
allocated the land to the DRACPN in 2004. Since that time, DRACPN did not have the
funds to build up the sites and the mayor of Koulikoro has re-allocated the land to
citizens. Residential housing has been constructed on five of the eight proposed sites. In
addition to the existence of housing on more than half of these sites, there are other
problems associated with these proposed sites which present challenges in transforming
them into productive sanitary landfills. For example, the site serving Koulikoro Gare and
Centre-ville is located very close to the bank of the Niger River, which violates
conventional standards as well as the standards proposed by BETRAP in the PSA
(2004b).
Regarding means of collection, DRACPN would like to popularize standardized covered
solid waste recepticals. These cans would be placed in public areas and each household
would be expected to get their own as well (BETRAP 2004b). In higher altitude districts
tractors would be used to collect waste; donkey carts would service everywhere else. A
large cargo truck is also needed to take the solid waste from the transit dumps to the final
dump. These trucks vary in capacity and skill necessary to operate. One option is a single
bin truck with a capacity of 7-15 m3 and a mechanized shovel to facilitate loading.
Multi-binned trucks are also available with a capacity of 7-8 m3; they are semimechanized and require a specialist for maintenance. Lastly, there is a 10-20 m3 truck, a
model commonly used in Paris (BETRAP 2004b).
The main obstacles to implementing this plan are material, financial, and organizational.
The equipment is poor, the collection fees are insufficient to handle all of the waste, and
there is a lack of communication between the government, its ministries, community
groups and the public (BETRAP 2004a).
2.3.2 Solution 2: Community Involvement
The Non-Governmental Organization (NGO), Association des Amis du Fleuve Niger
(AAFN) also wrote a project plan to mitigate the waste management issues of Koulikoro
(AAFN 2003). Their project focuses more on community issues and one of its main
objectives is to educate and reinforce capacities through trainings and skills transfer.
AAFN aims to achieve this objective by informing more than 8,000 community members
and holding trainings on proper waste handling for scavengers, GIEs, technical
organizations and other NGOs. Through these trainings, AAFN will encourage
participants to identify problems. AAFN’s action plan includes working with GTZ and
the mayor of Koulikoro to reorganize channels of waste management in the city such that
they are oriented around health committees and the GIEs. The GIEs will construct ten
transit depots and acquire materials for collection purposes. The goal of this action plan is
to collect at least 70% of the city’s waste. Table 5 is the AAFN’s proposed budget to
achieve these goals and objectives.
37 Table 5: Proposed budget for AAFN (2003) solid waste management project plan
Expense
A. Personnel: workers, 1 driver, 3 ONGs
B. Formations – 1 on negative effects of pollution;
C. Equipment and construction of 10 transit dumps (761310
cfa each); carts and donkeys (10), wheelbarrows (10),
shovels, picks and rakes (20 each), brooms (200)
D. Contracts – conception plan, construction of depots,
location for camions (2x20)
E. Maintenance
F. Evaluations – carburant (4800L) and lubricant (192L)
G. Unforeseen (3%) and admin fees (10%)
Total
Cost (CFA)
9,617,000
1,400,000
12,415,720
1,830,000
300,000
2,496,000
488,223 + 1,676323
30,222,646
Between 2003 and 2004 AAFN allows for 9,617,00 CFA (about 20,000 USD) to be spent
on personnel. This is economically viable as it creates new jobs. Further economic
viability is examined in Table 6 that describes the AAFN proposed funding sources.
Table 6: AAFN proposed solid waste management funding sources
Contribution
Percent of Total
Funding Source
(CFA)
Project Cost
Community
6,024,000
20%
AAFN
5,760,000
19%
External funds
18,438,646
61%
Total
30,222,646
100%
Most of the community contribution in this case is in kind as labor and collection
services. A contribution of 20% is reasonable to expect from a community for a project
and city of this size. For example, smaller projects funded through the Peace Corps
Partnership Program require a 30% community contribution. This is intended to create a
sense of ownership for the community. While this percentage is reasonable to expect the
38 question becomes whether or not the community is able and willing to pay this much
money or contribute the in kind services.
The majority of the funds are coming from an undefined “external” source. This is an
economic viability concern. Because the AAFN has not clearly defined who will be
providing the funds, it is more likely that they will not receive them and the project will
be dropped. Furthermore, aside from the community contribution, there is no link with
the local government to the funding of this project. This can cause issues with social
desirability when the government’s agenda conflicts with the objectives of the project.
2.3.3 Solution 3: Waste-to-Energy
Lastly, VICA Technologies LLC of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania signed a contract in 2009
with the Malian government for the construction of a waste-to-energy (WTE) plant. The
plant would be located halfway between Bamako and Koulikoro; the city of Koulikoro
plans to negotiate with Bamako for delivery of their waste the facility (BETRAP 2004a).
VICA plans to use a Build Own Operate Transfer (BOOT) system in constructing the
plant. VICA will build the plant and own it for the first fifteen years, operating with
trained Malians to whom it will completely be transferred after fifteen years. The plant
will process and convert 100% of waste to usable energy, putting 15 MW of power to the
grid as well as creating by-product materials to be used in construction panels, compost,
and metal works (VICA 2009).
2.3.4 Design Review
None of these three plans are adequate. Mainly for financial reasons, none of them have
gotten off the ground. As is common in developing countries, the Malian government is
not budgeting enough money for solid waste management. The first plan with the city
was developed in 2004, but before the government could find the money to implement it,
the mayor had reallocated the land that would have been used for landfills to residents.
The AAFN project plan required a monetary contribution that the city could not afford
either.
39 While financial issues may be the primary reasons these projects did not move beyond
concept, there are other social and environmental issues that could render them
“inappropriate” as well. For example, some of the sites selected with the DRACPN’s
plan are environmentally and socially unsound as they are located either too close to the
river or residential areas. Some surveys and studies were conducted in order to formulate
this collection plan, but to be more socially appropriate, the DRACPN could have
incorporated more information campaigns or focus groups to allow the community to
have a part in the development of the plan. Furthermore, the DRACPN’s plan
incorporates technology that is used in Paris. The site selection was based on French
regulations and some of the equipment they proposed to use is used in France. Because
of the differences between developed and developing countries, this is not the most
appropriate plan. AAFN’s project plan does incorporate more social initiatives and local
resources, but it was still economically inappropriate. The Bamako waste to energy plant
is a very large-scale project that will require the full backing of the Malian government,
which is which it is currently faltering. Even with the government behind this project it
is very difficult to mobilize such a large community with new laws and regulations and
much educational awareness would need to be publicized so that the community would
make use of the newly implemented services. These and other issues are summarized in
Table 7.
40 Table 7: Summary of proposed solutions, their affiliated organizations and key
problems
Proposed Solution
Affiliation
Key problems
Waste transfer
BETRAP
Social desirability– lack of communication
between the government, its ministries,
community groups and the public
Environmental feasibility– sites selected for
transit dumps violate regulations
Economic viability – the proposed
equipment is used in industrialized
countries and is not suitable for developing
countries
Community
AAFN
Involvement
Economic viability – community’s
willingness to pay and contribute in kind
services
Economic viability – unclear external
sources for the majority of the funding
Waste-to-Energy
VICA
Social desirability – highly technical
processes being introduced to the
community for the first time will be difficult
to train employees
Social desirability – lack of communication
with the public about the new site and
education on the new regulations
Social desirability – conflict with the
Malian government
Economic viability – proposed site is far
from collection points, increasing the cost
of transportation
41 Chapter 3: Data and Discussion
This chapter examines the degree to which the government’s proposed system of ISWM
through waste transfer is appropriate. Following this analysis suggestions are made to
create a better design. To explore the issues of viability, feasibility and desirability, the
Koulikoro government data and field data of the city’s waste generation rates are
compared. Based upon these findings, the appropriateness of the proposed transit dumps
is reviewed with standards established by the city. Finally, appropriate collection and
transfer routing options are offered for Koulikoro.
3.1 Data Description
The following data is taken from Koulikoro’s PSA (BETRAP 2004a), showing the city’s
population as projected from known data in 2004 and corresponding waste generation
rates estimated assuming 0.7 kg waste produced per capita per day. This government data
serves as a baseline for comparison of data collected in the field during this project.
Table 8: Population and waste generation data for the city of
Koulikoro (PSA 2004). Solid waste production data before 2004 is
calculated assuming a rate of 0.7 kg/person-day. Data for 2004 and
beyond are forecasts by the government.
Year
Population
1976
1987
1998
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
16,134
20,795
28,670
35,120
36,328
37,778
38,870
40,207
41,509
43,021
44,501
46,032
47,615
49,254
Solid waste
Production
(kg/day)
11,294
14,557
20,069
24,584
25,430
26,445
27,209
28,145
29,057
30,115
31,151
32,223
33,331
34,478
42 In Spring 2010, all unofficial dumpsites in Koulikoro were identified and volume of each
was estimated using a GPS-based strategy.
The GPS-based strategy protocol developed for this work uses a Garmin etrex™ Venture
HC GPS unit and includes the following steps:
1) Accompanied by a city resident, traversing the city by foot to identify open
dumpsites; dumpsites were identified based on the author’s professional opinion and
experience in Mali as well as the knowledge of the accompanying city resident. Open
dumpsites are those that appear to be used by at least one family. Widespread litter
and solid waste that had been dumped in open gutters were not recorded.
2) Taking three to five points along the perimeter to identify general size and shape of
each site; while the depth of the waste was not constant, the perimeter was
determined to be the point where the dump transitioned from collected solid waste to
open ground. Footpaths distinguished the perimeter and wind strewn solid waste was
not included within the perimeter of the open dumpsite.
3) Using Garmin Trip and Waypoint Manager software to calculate approximate area of
each site; the software’s measure tool was used to draw a closed circuit using the
three to five points recorded along the perimeter and the tool calculated the area of
the dumpsite.
Geo-coding of open dumps was completed between the months of April and July, 2010.
Using the GPS-based methodology, the total area of unofficial dumps in Koulikoro was
found to be nearly 34,000 m2, roughly the size of five international match soccer fields.
Figure 9 shows the location and relative size of each recorded open dump site. Figure 10
illustrates the size distribution of these sites. Table 9 summarizes the distribution of
dumpsites throughout four districts in the city. A full description of each site, its location
and size can be found in Appendix A. Koulikoroba is the northern most district, Gare is
the next district south along the river followed by Kolebougou and Souban, the southern
most district illustrated here.
43 Figure 9: Satellite image of the city of Koulikoro, with red markers representing open dump sites and denoting the relative
size of each site (Used with permission from Google 2010)
Table 9: Distribution of open dumpsites in four districts of Koulikoro, Mali
District
Number of open
dumps
30
Total area
(m2)
6,632
Gare
59
18,895
Kolebougou
29
3,051
Souban
16
5,210
Koulikoroba
Figure 10: Size distribution of open dumpsites in the city of Koulikoro, Mali
While the area can readily be measured using GPS, finding the volume of solid waste is a
bigger challenge due to the difficulty in estimating solid waste depth. Since
comprehensive measurements were beyond the resources of this investigation, depth
interpolations were used, and could be performed in two ways:
1) using literature estimates of similar dumps
2) combining government solid waste flow estimates with the area estimates found
with GPS-based strategies.
The second method was more likely to yield more accurate results for Koulikoro; in
addition little work exists to provide estimates useful to Mali. It is recognized that the
area calculated with GPS-based data is not a daily accumulation of waste. Considering
waste burning practices and the presence of livestock, assume this area is constant
monthly. From the author’s experience in the field, most open dumps were shallow and
spread out. The depth of a dump never exceeded the height of the author’s knee and
always exceeded the height of the author’s shoes. From this, 7.5 cm – 45 cm is a
reasonable range of depths of solid waste seen throughout the city. Using this range of
depths, monthly GPS-based data for the total area of dumps, and previously introduced
literature-based data densities of loose waste in developing countries (250-600 kg/m3),
the average daily waste generation rate in Koulikoro was estimated (see Table 10).
Table 10: Daily waste generation for Koulikoro based on evaluation of all waste
dumps. Figures in red indicate the range in which the government’s estimate falls
Assumed Depth
(m)
Waste Density
(kg/m3)
250
400
425
450
500
600
0.075
Generation
(kg/day)
21,117
33,788
35,900
38,011
42,235
50,681
0.15
Generation
(kg/day)
42,235
67,576
71,799
76,023
84,470
101,363
0.30
Generation
(kg/day)
84,470
135,152
143,599
152,046
168,940
202,728
0.45
Generation
(kg/day)
126,705
202,278
215,398
228,069
253,409
304,091
This table shows that the government’s estimated generation rate of 30,115 kg/day is
reasonable as it falls within the ranges of 7.5 – 15 cm and 250 – 400 kg/m3 (as
highlighted in red). Counter to this, looking at the other extreme, a depth of 45 cm and
density of 600 kg/m3 is unreasonable to assume as it yields a generation gate of 304,091
kg/day which does not correspond well to the government’s data. Next, further
interpolation of these figures, using the government’s generation rate, is calculated in
46 order to determine a more precise range of values for depth and density. This results in
the following density-depth pairs:
•
holding density, interpolating between 7.5 cm and 15 cm
o (250 kg/m3, 11 cm)
o (400 kg/m3, 6.7 cm)
•
holding depth, interpolating between 250 kg/m3 and 400 kg/m3
o (357 kg/m3, 7.5 cm)
o (178 kg/m3, 15 cm)
The representative photograph in Figure 11 shows that much of the waste in these
unofficial dumpsites is either paper or plastic and shallow. From this, it is reasonable to
assume a density and depth lower in the established ranges. Based on these interpolations
and photographic evidence, the area, generation rate, and density-depth pairings
presented in Table 11 are established and used for further analysis of the waste generation
data throughout the rest of this report.
Table 11: Established values for area, generation rate,
density and depth of waste in all Koulikoro, Mali unofficial
dump sites (2010)
Area
(m2/month)
Generation rate
(kg/day)
Density
(kg/m3)
178
33,788
30,115
Depth
(m)
0.15
250
0.11
357
0.075
400
0.067
47 Figure 11: Example of unofficial dump site in Koulikoro, Mali
Recent population estimates were based on a census in the late 1980s coupled with
growth rate projections between 1987 and 2014. A constant rate of 3.44%/year was used
assuming that urbanization would plateau because rural populations would be more
integrated in their home villages and rural villages would become more “autonomous”
(BETRAP 2004a). Supporting this assumption, Potts (2009) identifies “evidence of
counter-urbanization” in Mali during the 1990s.
Table 12: Population growth data in Koulikoro, Mali (BETRAP 2004a)
Year
1976
1987
1998
2014
Constant
Population
growth rate
(BETRAP 2004a) (BETRAP
2004a)
16,134
2.33%/yr
20,795
3.44 %/yr
28,670
3.44 %/yr
49,254
(Projected)
48 The literature suggests that waste generation increases with an increase in income. Table
13 (Zurbrugg 2002) shows this trend in some developing countries in Asia.
Table 13: Waste generation rates of some Asian Countries, sorted by ascending
Gross National Income (GNI) (Zurbrugg 2002)
Country
Nepal
Cambodia
Lao PDR
Bangladesh
Vietnam
Pakistan
India
Indonesia
China
Sri Lanka
Philippines
Thailand
GNI per capita Waste generation
(USD/yr)
(kg/capita/day)
240
0.2-0.5
260
1
290
0.7
370
0.5
390
0.55
440
0.6-0.8
450
0.3-0.6
570
0.8-1.0
840
0.8
850
0.2-0.9
1,040
0.3-0.7
2,000
1.1
While this data reflects that increases in income result in increases in waste generation,
Cointreau-Levine (1994) suggests with Table 14 that this trend is strongest when
comparing lower-income and high-income countries.
Table 14: Waste generation rates and income (Cointreau-Levine 1994)
Solid Waste Quantity
(tonne/capita/yr)
Average income
(USD/capita/yr in
1988)
Low-income
country
Middle-income
country
Industrialized
country
0.2
0.3
0.6
350
1,950
17,500
Mali’s economic status has changed little over the past few decades, therefore it is
assumed that the established waste generation rate of 0.7 kg/person/day has been
constant. With a constant population growth rate and maintaining this waste generation
rate yields a projected population of 43,021 in the year 2010 producing 30,115 kg/day as
seen previously in Table 8.
49 3.2 Waste Collection Evaluation
The government estimated waste generation rate of 30,115 kg/day was used to check the
validity of the proposed waste management system for the city of Koulikoro. The range
of densities previously introduced were applied to this generation rate to yield the
following range of volumes:
Table 15: Estimated volume of daily waste generation data
Density
(kg/m3)
178
Volume
(m3/day)
169
250
120
357
84
400
75
The city has proposed eight transit depots each with a daily capacity of 40-50 m3, for a
total capacity of 320 to 400 m3 throughout the city (BETRAP 2004b). This is more than
sufficient to contain the range of estimated volumes generated on a daily basis throughout
the city.
With respect to collection capacity, various sanitation groups and GIEs have a fleet
totaling twenty donkey carts. Each cart has a capacity of one cubic meter, and according
to the proposed collection plan, can make four tours each day. Using the range 75 m3/day
to 169 m3/day and adding five carts as a factor of safety translates to 80 – 174 donkey
carts of waste to be collected throughout the city each day. If each cart is able to make
four tours in one day, it follows that 20 - 44 donkey carts are needed to manage the daily
waste output in the city. Depending on the assumed density of the waste this would
require as much as doubling the current fleet. Further adjustment is needed, however, as
the current fleet only serves the districts of Plateau I and Plateau II and in the center of
town. To reapportion the fleet more accordingly, the data in Table 16 by the Koulikoro
Hygiene Brigade in 1996 was considered (BETRAP 2004b).
50 Table 16: Waste generation by district,
percent of total generation for Koulikoro,
Mali
District
Koulikoro
centre
Plateau I
Plateau II
Plateau III
Kolebougou
Cite
Koulikoroba
Total
Waste generation
contribution to
total (%)
38.22
14.44
14.22
0.64
1.25
0.17
30.54
100
This data includes the “Cite” as a separate district and does not account for the districts of
Gare, Souban, Kayo and Katibougou. Still, it can be used to begin to address the issue of
adequately distributing waste collection services throughout the city. Consider the district
of Koulikoroba; 30.54% of the 30,115 kg/day total estimated by the government suggests
that there is as much as 9,197 kg of waste being disposed each day. Further examination
of the actual data shown in Figure 12 and applying the established density-depth pairs,
however, shows that there is 15 m3/day - 33 m3/day or 2,636 kg/day – 13,263 kg/day
being openly dumped in this part of the city. The government’s estimate of the amount
of solid waste in this district is in the upper quadrant of this range. This suggests six
possible causes: the waste is more dense and shallow, the 30.54% only accounts for seven
of the ten districts, the 30.54% is a high estimate, there is more waste in the district of
Koulikoroba than was estimated via GPS-based strategies, the residents are disposing
waste in other locations, or conditions have changed since the 1996 data in Table 16.
Maintaining that the habitants of this part of the city openly dump 15 m3/day - 33 m3/day,
five to ten donkey carts are needed to service this area each making four tours in the day.
51 Figure 12: Open dumps located in the district of Koulikoroba with the size of the red markers denoting the relative size of the
dump and the green marker representing the proposed transit dump site (Used with permission from Google 2010)
A similar examination of the Kolebougou district in Figure 13 reveals that there is 9 m3 –
15 m3 or 1213 kg – 6102 kg of waste openly dumped each day; using the percentages
calculated by the Hygiene Brigade in Table 16 would suggest that there is an output of
only 376 kg/day or 1 m3/day – 2 m3/day. This is important to note because assuming the
1.25% rate given by the Hygiene Brigade would allow for only one donkey cart to serve
the area; however, seeing that there is actually at least 9 m3 – 15 m3 being produced each
day, four to five carts need to be distributed to this part of the city, each completing
almost four full tours.
Addressing the district of Koulikoro Gare is more difficult because the boundaries are
less distinct. Combining the percentages for Koulikoro Centre and Plateaus I, II, and III
yields a total of 67.52% that can be applied to the area as a whole, as it is also commonly
referred to as Koulikoro Gare even though it is technically its own district. Applying this
percentage to the government issued data suggests that there is 20,334 kg of daily waste
output. The data depicted in Figure 14 only shows about 42 m3 - 95 m3 or 7514 kg 37800 kg of daily waste in open dumps in this part of the city, and the majority of the
city’s resources should be dedicated to servicing this district. Twelve to twenty-five
donkey carts, each making four tours a day will be sufficient to collect the waste openly
dumped in this portion of the city.
The Hygiene Brigade did not include the district of Souban in their breakdown of the
amount of solid waste in each district, but the number of donkey carts necessary to
service the area can be estimated using GPS-based data. The community of Souban
openly dumps 12 m3 – 26 m3 of waste daily. This can be serviced with five to eight
donkey carts each making four tours in one day.
Figure 13: Open dumps located in the district of Kolebougou with the size of the red markers denoting the relative size of the
dump and the green marker representing the proposed transit dump site (Used with permission from Google 2010)
Figure 14: Open dumps located in the district of Koulikoro Gare with the size of the red markers denoting the relative size of
the dump and the green marker representing the proposed transit dump site (Used with permission from Google 2010)
The following table summarizes the reapportionment of resources throughout the city.
Table 17: Distribution of donkey carts needed to serve
district solid waste collection needs in Koulikoro, Mali
District
Koulikoro Gare
Number of
donkey carts
12 – 25
Kolebougou
Koulikoroba
4–5
5 – 10
Souban
5–8
3.3 Waste Transit Site Evaluation
Engineers from BETRAP-SARL working for the city of Koulikoro have selected eight
sites for transit dumps, shown in Figure 7, based on the following criteria:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Location
o 200-300 m from residence
o 20-50 m from wooded area
o 35-50 m from water
o 200-300 m from swimming areas or beaches
o [but in Africa because of financial means and engine breakdowns it
is recommended to situate dumps outside the city at least 10 km]
Security – not in school zone, earthquake, rock or mud slide zone
Available land – 5 years
Favorable access conditions
Hydrogeologic conditions – natural or artificial protection of
earth/groundwater
Geotechnical conditions – protection against erosion
Surface hydrology – natural drainage of rainwater
Integration into the landscape – even after closure landfill must not be
disruptive, take measures to re-wood
Form and volume used
Since the time the sites were selected in 2004, some changes have occurred throughout
the city that might now cause the proposed sites to be in violation of these regulations.
To examine this further a circle with a radius of 300 m is drawn using the proposed
Koulikoro Gare site (D) as the center, as shown in Figure 15. This shows that this site
violates two Malian regulations: no residence or beaches be within 300 m of the transit
dump.
56 Figure 15: Proposed transit dump site for Koulikoro Gare (Used with permission from Google 2010)
57 A similar assessment of each proposed location reveals the violations summarized in
Table 18. From this basic assessment, Kayo is the only location does not violate design
criteria based on proximity to residents, water, beaches, schools, wooded areas, or
airports.
Table 18: Assessment of proposed waste transit sites
District
Violation
Kayo
Souban
Kolebougou
Koulikoro Gare
CAP
Koulikoroba
Cite
Katibougou
none
Within 300 m of residence
Within 300 m of residence and beach
Within 300 m of residence and school
Within 300 m of residence
Within 300 m of residence
Within 300 m of residence
Within 300 m of residence
3.4 Waste Collection and Transportation Evaluation
In designing a waste management system for the city, BETRAP (2004b) assumes the
following dimensions:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Capacity of 1 cart = 1 m3
Number of tours per cart = 4
1 cart pre-collects 50 concessions per day
Capacity of 1 tractor = 2.5 m3
Number of rotations per tractor = 7
1 tractor pre-collects 300 concessions per day
Capacity of truck = 7 m3
Number of tours by truck = 6 (final dump is 10 km away)
These assumptions can be applied to a simplified heuristic vehicle routing problem. The
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) guidelines were also considered in designing an
effective system. While the EPA lists 12 “rules” of routing problems as follows, the first
three are most applicable to the conditions in Koulikoro (Davis 2008):
1. Routes should not be fragmented or overlapped. Each route should be compact,
consisting of street segments clustered in the same geographical area.
2. Total collection plus haul times should be reasonably constant for each route in
the community (equalized workloads).
58 3. The collection route should be started as close to the garage or motor pool as
possible, taking into account heavily traveled and one-way streets.
4. heavily traveled streets should not be collected during rush hours.
5. in the case of one-way streets, it is best to start the route near the upper end of the
street, working down it through the looping process.
6. services on dead end streets can be considered as services on the street segment
that they intersect, since they can only be collected by passing down that street
segment. To keep left turns at a minimum, collect the dead end streets when they
are to the right of the truck. They must be collected by walking down backing
down or making a u-turn
7. when practical, service stops on steep hills should be collected on both sides of
the street while the vehicle is moving downhill for safety, ease, speek of
collection, wear on vehicle, and conservation of gas and oil.
8. higher elevations should be at the start of the route
9. for collection from one side of the street at a time, it is generally best to route with
many clockwise turns around blocks.
10. for collection from both sides of the street at the same time, it is generally best to
route with long, straight paths across the grid before looping clockwise
11. for certain block configurations within the route, specific routing patterns should
be applied.
Considering the locations of existing unofficial dump sites and the community’s relative
lack of willingness to pay for services, it is more appropriate to use the existing dump
sites as collection points rather than designing a system based on front door collection.
While seven of the eight proposed sites can be eliminated based on proximity to
community resources, the proposed transit site in the district of Souban is presented in the
next section as a transit dump site which could be redesigned.
3.3.1 Collection and transportation system using proposed transit dump
GPS-based calculations show that the people of the district of Souban openly dump
2,071 kg – 10,420 kg of waste each day. For the purpose of this example, assume that the
density is 357 kg/m3 and the depth of the waste is 7.5 cm. Systems can be similarly
designed using the other established density pairs. Based on assumptions from BETRAP
and as shown in the following schematic, it will require three different donkey carts and
one tractor to service this area. The green, blue and red each represent a different donkey
cart and its assigned collection route. The carts represented by red and green each have
three tours, or trips from the dump site to a collection point and back. Each tour consists
of either one, two, or three stops at collection points to collect no more than 1 m3 per
59 tour. The cart represented by blue has four tours, the maximum number of tours assumed
by BETRAP (2004b). Each tour for the blue cart only stops once for collection. The
black represents a tractor that will be needed to service the larger dumpsite located on the
road in the middle of the district. This is the only collection point for the tractor in this
district, but it will have to complete at least two tours to completely service the collection
point. For all vehicles, collection tours start close to the dump site, which is also
assumed to be the “garage”. The first round of tours for all carts is represented with a
dotted line. The second round of tours is represented with a dashed line and the third is
represented with a solid line. The fourth tour for the cart represented with blue is a
dashed-dotted line.
60 Figure 16: Example of vehicle routing for the district of Souban, Koulikoro (Used with permission from Google 2010)
61 3.3.2 Collection and transportation system using dumpsters
One alternative suggests using 7 m3 dumpsters on the transit sites instead of developing
landfills (BETRAP 2004b). BETRAP and DRACPN identify the following advantages
and disadvantages of this alternative in Table 19.
Table 19: Advantages and Disadvantages of Dumpsters and Landfills (BETRAP
2004b)
Dumps
Dumpsters
Advantages
- Large capacity
- Relatively cheap to buy
- Not necessary to use a truck
- Non-existent maintenance cost
every day
- Easy to handle
- Small-bin truck is sufficient
- Capacity adapted to need
- Produced locally
Disadvantages - High development cost
- Need a camion adapted loading
- Still have to get truck
and unloading the dumpster
- Dumpster is more money than a
regular bin
This is one way to begin to address the collection and transportation issue in this part of
the city. Using dumpsters on unofficial dumpsites is socially desirable because the
dumpsters require few habit modifications. It is not feasible, however, because the
largest unofficial dumpsite is located at the mouth of a stream that feeds directly to the
Niger River; it would be necessary to move the location of this site farther away from the
river to preserve the river. Additionally, this option is not economically viable because it
uses resources that are not readily available in the city. Dumpsters are not impossible to
acquire in Mali; the city of Sikasso, Mali has at least one in its large market area.
Souban is again used as an example, this time considering the alternative of dumpsters. In
this case, the proposed transit site is not used; instead, two dumpsters are placed near the
site of the largest unofficial dump. Additionally, 0.5 m3 bins are placed at all other
unofficial dump sites. These bins are standardized and a similar solution was effective in
Asansol, India (Ghose 2006). Figure 17 illustrates proposed locations for these bins and
dumpsters. Each yellow circle represents a 0.5 m3 bin placed on the site of existing
clandestine dumps. Two 7 m3 dumpsters, represented by red squares are placed near the
site of the largest unofficial site, but farther from the stream. The same donkey cart
62 collection system would be used here, with the “garage” located near the dumpsters. A
truck would be needed to make two tours to and from the final dump site in Banamba in
order to completely service the two dumpsters. While this solution may be more socially
and environmentally appropriate, it requires additional equipment, some of which would
be specialized to handle the dumpsters. For this reason, this solution may not be viable.
63 Figure 17: Proposed dumpster (red squares) and bin (yellow circles) placement for alternative collection plan in the district of
Souban (Used with permission from Google 2010)
64 The following table highlights the suggested ISWM designs in comparison with the
government’s proposed solution of waste transfer (BETRAP).
Table 20: Summary of ISWM design features
Collection and
transit sites
Service vehicles
Option 1: Using
proposed sites
(example solution
for Souban)
Option 2: Dumpsters
(example solution for
Souban)
Waste transfer
(BETRAP)
Eight transit sites
(each 40 m3 - 50 m3
daily volume)
Place a series of
dumpsters of 7 m3
capacity in each
district (two in
Souban)
Eight transit sites
(each 40 m3 - 50 m3
daily volume)
Place .5 m3 bins on
each unofficial dump
site (20 in Souban)
Standardize covered
solid waste cans both
in public and at each
household
Donkey carts to
service bins to
dumpsters
Donkey carts used for
districts not in high
elevations
Dumpster handling
truck to service transit
dumpsters to final
dump
Tractors used for
districts in high
altitudes
Donkey carts to
service most smaller
unofficial dumps (48 to serve Souban)
Tractors to service
larger unofficial
dumps (1 to serve
Souban)
Single bin truck with
a capacity of 7-15 m3
and a mechanized
shovel to facilitate
loading
Truck to transfer
waste from transit
dump to final dump
Multi-binned trucks
are also available
with a capacity of 7-8
m3
10-20 m3 truck
Final dump site
Banamba
Banamba
Banamba
65 Chapter 4: Future Research and Major Findings
4.1 Further research
This report only begins to address the issues relating to solid waste management in the
city of Koulikoro, Mali, and other developing communities. Critical next steps in this
area of research include:
• Information: Current data needs to be collected in order to accurately assess the waste
profile of the city. Updated population data for each district along with an inventory of
the city’s current resources also needs to be collected to effectively distribute collection
and transportation services. The city also needs to reassess the sites that have been
selected to serve as transit dumps. With updated and more accurate information the city
can explore different options for collection, transportation, and disposal.
• Assessment: In depth social, environmental, and economic evaluations are needed to
fully understand the best options for the most effective waste management system. The
public should be involved in the design process for it to be appropriate and sustainable.
A social evaluation must address issues such as willingness to pay, collection options,
and landfill site placement. Environmental standards specific to the West African region
need to be developed. Standards from industrialized countries, like the SDAU from
France will not be applicable in developing countries, and should no longer be used. An
economic analysis should examine what resources are available locally and avoid plans
that rely too heavily on foreign equipment and practice.
4.2 Further work for Peace Corps Volunteers and development workers
As the city of Koulikoro is a sizable community, Peace Corps Volunteers and similar
development workers should consider projects on a smaller scale to make meaningful
contributions, for example:
• Improving collection systems by working with the existing GIEs and women’s group,
• Promoting clean and healthy environments by working with community leaders and the
schools
• Developing community education plans on how waste management affects health.
66 4.3 Major Findings
Reflecting on the objectives of this work, the research described herein provides insight
on each. In summary:
Objective 1. Examine current solid waste management conditions in Koulikoro, Mali
1.1 The size and location of each unofficial dumpsite was recorded and presented
on satellite images of the city. 133 open dumps were recorded and the area of waste in
these open dumps amounts to 33,788 m2/month.
1.2 Ranges of the depth and density of loose solid waste in open dumps were
estimated using geo-coded data and existing data from the Malian government. The
density of loose waste ranges from 178 – 400 kg/m3 and the depth ranges from 6.7 – 15
cm. Using these ranges, and the geo-coded area of waste found, it follows that the
volume of waste in the open dumps is 2264 – 5068 m3/month.
Objective 2. Determine the appropriateness of current and proposed practices
2.1 The city currently has a vehicle collection fleet of twenty 1 m3 donkey carts
that service three districts. In order to completely service the 2264 – 5068 m3/month (80
m3/day - 175 m3/day) 20 – 45 donkey carts are needed and each cart transport no more
than four loads per day. The city’s current fleet may need to be as much as doubled to
serve the entire community.
2.2 Using regulations established by the French, the engineers working for the
city of Koulikoro proposed eight transit sites in 2004. Since 2004 significant changes
have occurred causing the sites to be less environmentally feasible. Re-evaluating these
sites using the same French regulations, seven sites are found to be within 300 m of either
beaches or residential areas and thus not environmentally feasible.
Objective 3. Suggest additional appropriate options
3.1 Using the existing unofficial dumpsites as collection points and maintaining
the proposed transit sites and final dump site, vehicle routes were suggested based on
EPA guidelines. Developing an example for the district of Souban, three carts and one
tractor are needed to service this area.
67 3.2 A more environmentally feasible option considered replacing the transit sites
with more centrally located dumpsters. In consideration of social desirability, open
dumpsites were used as collection points. This alternative is not economically viable as it
requires new resources and equipment that the community might not be able to afford.
Table 21 presents the major findings discovered by this investigation.
Table 21: Major findings from this work
Finding
Result
Number of unofficial dumpsites
133
Area of waste in open dumps in the city of
Koulikoro
33,788 m2/month
Density of loose waste in open dumps
178 – 400 kg/m3
Depth of loose waste in open dumps
6.7 – 15 cm
Volume of loose waste in open dumps
2,264 – 5,068 m3/month
ISWM design recommendations
• Incorporate the use of dumpsters and bins
to minimize impact of open dumps on the
environment
• Use donkey carts to service the smaller
dumpsites
• Use tractors to service larger dumpsites
• Use a truck to transfer waste from
dumpsters or transit sites to the final
dumpsite
Improving Koulikoro’s solid waste management system must be approached with the
three factors of appropriate design in mind. Social, environmental, and economic
constraints affect systems differently in developing countries than in industrialized
countries, and therefore systems used in industrialized countries are not applicable in the
68 developing world. Africa in particular has specialized social, environmental, and
economic factors that are not seen anywhere else in the world. In the city of Koulikoro,
Mali, the current system is evaluated using these factors and suggestions for
improvements to this system are made based on what is most appropriate.
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72 Appendix A: Dump site locations
73 Figure 18: Open dump sites in the district of Souban. Each number represents a site described in Table 22 (Appendix B). (used with
permission from Google 2010)
74 Figure 19: Open dump sites in the district of Koulikoroba. Each number represents a site described in Table 22 (Appendix B). (used
with permission from Google 2010)
75 Figure 20: Open dump sites in the district of Kolebougou. Each number represents a site described in Table 22 (Appendix B). (used
with permission from Google 2010)
76 Figure 21: Open dump sites in the southern part of the district of Koulikoro gare. Each number represents a site described in Table
22 (Appendix B). (used with permission from Google 2010)
77 Figure 22: Open dump sites in the southern part of the district of Koulikoro gare. Each number represents a site described in Table
22 (Appendix B). (used with permission from Google 2010)
78 Appendix B: Dump site area measurements
Table 22: Area of each unofficial dump sites in Koulikoro, Mali as measured by GPS
Souban
Kolebougou
Area (m2)
no.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
67.08
203.36
2,210.81
25.83
95.23
61.32
326.28
205.97
343.56
283.73
362.88
69.03
69.49
101.73
560.95
222.87
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
Total
area:
5,210.10
no.
Area (m2)
349.00
115.00
214.00
2,795.00
166.00
442.00
381.00
320.00
422.00
339.00
790.00
324.00
234.00
2,737.00
2,093.00
1,438.00
749.00
6,900.00
17.93
40.04
98.48
78.22
104.05
37.07
38.09
324.05
207.17
142.42
30.19
21,925.72
no.
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
Gare
Area
(m2)
no.
10.27
0.33
1.09
0.13
0.32
0.31
1.18
0.05
0.73
0.07
0.38
0.23
0.87
0.22
0.51
0.74
0.55
0.99
1.06
0.20
0.58
0.72
0.44
1.49
0.13
0.13
0.09
0.44
0.98
3.43
28.67
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
Koulikoroba
Area
(m2)
1.84
0.42
0.04
0.19
0.55
1.46
1.22
0.28
0.11
0.94
0.46
0.71
0.35
0.33
0.74
0.87
0.30
0.55
0.68
0.29
0.14
0.48
0.14
0.89
1.83
2.40
0.34
0.17
18.72
no.
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
Area (m2)
20.90
18.95
261.99
114.08
434.41
97.73
187.66
81.94
909.80
1,146.14
271.28
167.04
158.31
115.66
308.36
386.49
41.89
91.43
262.26
317.97
390.14
79.28
116.11
119.97
68.93
40.10
22.54
38.48
158.97
202.71
6,631.54
79