General Municipal Solid

Waste Management

System

in

Ethiopia

By:Fikru TessemaE-mail: fikrut@mail.com

July 2003Addis Ababa

Waste Steam & Management System

1. Municipal Waste Management

National Government:

The Federal Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) is responsible to formulate:- National Environmental Protection Policy and Conservation Strategy, which

includes environmental sanitation.- Environmental standards But there is no waste policy at Federal level. The Federal Ministry of Health in its Public Health Law has also ordinance for waste and necessary measures for its miss management.

Prefectural Government:

The Regional Environmental Protection Bureaus (EPBs) are responsible:- To formulate rules, regulations, and regional environment conservation strategy

based on the National Environmental Protection Policy and Conservation Strategy.

- To formulate environmental standards.Some waste Rules and Regulation of some Regional EPBs are under process. They are not yet proclaimed.

Municipal Government:

The Sanitation & Beatification Agency and Municipalities (M) are responsible: - To formulate municipal solid waste management plan. - To provide municipal solid waste management services.- For the disposal of municipal solid waste Some M have an operational regulation for environmental sanitation.

2. Industrial Waste Management

National Government:

The Federal Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) is responsible:- To formulate EIA and pollution control regulation for industrial sector. - There is no industrial waste policy at Federal level

Prefectural Government:

The Regional Environmental Protection Bureau (EPB) is responsible:- To formulate rules and regulations for industrial pollution control.- To apply EIA for industrial development

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Some industrial pollution control Rules and Regulation of some regional EPBs are under process. They are not yet ratified.

Municipal Government:

The Sanitation & Beatification Agency & Municipalities are not responsible: - To formulate institutional solid waste management plan. - To provide institutional solid waste management services.

For the disposal of industrial solid waste the generators released in to the environment without efficient treatment.

3. Perspectives and Problems

UnitSummary of Present Condition

Issues and Problems

1. Waste Management System

Institutional Arrangement:

The Sanitation & Beatification Agency and Municipalities are in charge of solid waste management while the Federal EPA and Regional EPB give guidance and raise awareness on the handling of wastes.

Legal System:

The only regulations and laws are the Legal Notice of some Regional States, the Public Health Law of the Ministry of Health and Environment Policy.

There are no uniform institutional arrangements for waste management in the country; in some regions, it is under Municipalities and in the others under the Health Bureaus.

Laws and regulations are not properly implemented.There is no waste policy at Federal Government.

UnitSummary of Present Condition

Issues and Problems

2. Waste Generation

Waste Generators:

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- Households (65%)- Market places (10%)- Institutions (6%)- Street sweeping (10%)- Industries (9%)

General Waste Type (%by wt, 1994):1. Vegetables 4.19% 2. Paper 2.47%3. Rubber & plastics 2.97%4. Wood 2.33%5. Bone 1.06%6. Textile 2.37%7. Metals 0.93%8. Glass 0.45%9. Combustible: leaves, grass,

etc 15.13%10.Non combustible 2.52%11.Fine <10mm size 29.93%12.10 < Fine < 55mm size

35.65%

Industrial Waste Type: Not Clearly Identified.

The total volume of solid waste for the country is not known.

The total volume of solid waste for urban center is not correctly estimated, but some estimates are made based on the study made for the Addis Ababa City, the capital of the country.

The available study is used for a long period. It needs updating.

Industrial waste is disposed-off in the environment without any treatment.

3. Collection and Transportation

Wastes from households and institutions are collected by public sector.

The households are also expected to bring their wastes to the point of collection.

Street cleaners sweep the asphalt roads and collect by using wheelbarrows.

After collection, the wastes are directly hauled to the dumpsite

The physical layout of urban centers, road condition and disposal sites determine the collection system. Most of the inner part of urban centers is not accessible for trucks thus the skips are placed near/on the main roads and wastes should be carried manually from the households to the skips. The landfill/dump sites are located at unsuitable areas, which also affect frequency of collection and also incurs transport cost.There is no source reduction and separation at point of generation.

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Unit Summary of Present ConditionIssues and Problems

4. Intermediate Treatment

There is no formal or public solid waste processing like recovery system, or operation, composting and waste-to-energy.

Some scavengers practice an informal type of solid waste recovery at landfill/dump site..

Lack of awareness and commitment of the public sector.Informal sectors are not well organized

5. Terminal Treatment

Most urban centers have district-dumping sites.

The number of district-dump sites is not more than 1 - 2 for each urban center.

For household, commercial and street wastes: the municipalities and health bureaus are in charge of its disposal.

Industrial wastes are released in to the environment without efficient treatment.

There is no leachate and atmospheric emissions control.Improper operational procedures, i.e. no soil cover and control of flying materials.

6. Environmental Education

The regional Environmental Protection Bureaus are in charge of education the community in some regions.

In the regions where there are no environment bureaus, the Regional Health Bureaus are responsible in educating the community on the environment.

Inaccessibility to reach the community to expand environmental education to the grass route population.

7. Others Items Indiscriminate dumping cannot be managed. About more than 40% of total waste generated in urban centers are discharged and uncollected on the streets, and the fields and in the rivers and waters.

With the increasing of population in urban centers the waste volume increases.

There is shortage of qualified professionals and no specialists (such as biologists, sanitary engineers or scientists) in waste management department.

Insufficient funds & poor manpower development.

Low level of population awareness and participation.Low level of service coverage because of the involvement of the public sector alone in waste management. There is no private sector involvement in waste management. The public sector is not organized as a profit making organization and a cost recovery system is absent.Funds are derived only form the general

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income.

4. The Current Strategic Framework Components

4.1 Policy and its Regulation

There is no waste policy at federal or regional level and no guidelines for private waste operators. The only laws and regulations are the Legal Notice of the Addis Ababa City Government, the Public Health Law of the Ministry of Health and Laws of Federal Environment Protection Authority for pollution control.

Based on the current policy issues, the Addis Ababa City Municipality also considers its responsibility for waste management among issues requiring top priorities; gives due attention to up-grade solid waste management and reinforce the legal aspects as regards to beautification and environmental protection in the city with the involvement of private sector and community participation.

The City Government has, therefore, ratified waste policy and its regulation for sufficient legal enforcement system for the sector.

4.2 Agency Reorganization

With respect to the institutional arrangement and management structure, they are not set in the most responsive manner and this greatly affects work coordination, control, monitoring and evaluation mechanisms due to low institutional capacity, inefficiency and poor institutional arrangement for MSW management.

The public sector is not organized as a profit making organization. The resource available for solid waste management is not sufficient and a cost recovery system is also absent.

Specific waste collection taxes are not well organized and funds are derived from the general income of the city government. As a consequence, economics of scale of equipment and facilities are seldom recognized. The expensive parts of the system like waste collection, transport & disposal equipment and public toilets have started to deteriorate.

The City Government has, therefore, reorganized the Agency as a municipal company to improve the institutional arrangement and its management structure.

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4.3 Standard Regulations/Requirements

The involvement of the government alone and lack of private sector involvement in SWM and PTS are becoming the main important parts to be considered for their implication on collection and disposal of wastes in the city. Especially collection is labour intensive and it is not an easy task for the public sector to carry out alone.

The City Government has, therefore, prepared a Minimum Requirement/Standards for Private Companies and Civic Societies’ Involvement in Solid Waste Collection & Transportation, Recycling, Composting and Public Toilet Services in Addis Ababa City for the involvement of the private sector, MSEs and NGOs.

4.4 Public Awareness

Irrespective of who carries and places waste in the skips and trucks is still demanding the cooperation of the population to be corrected. The cooperation from population becomes more and more important in the SW separation, storage and collection system and utilization of public toilets properly.

This is the case in the City of Addis Ababa: sorting, storage and collection system of solid waste that has been performed is unsatisfactory. As a result, open drains & spaces and rivers are the places where wastes end up.

The City Government has, therefore, designed the public awareness creation programme to increase and insure population participation.

4.5 A Network for the Improvement of the Addis Ababa Solid Waste Management (SWM) System

The public sector has nothing to do with processing of solid waste and it is also designed and operated to the unacceptable system of operation. There is no waste recovery system or operation, composting, waste-to-energy and source reduction and separation at point of generation. But, some scavengers practice an informal type of solid waste recovery at landfill site. They recover plastics, rubber, bottles, metals and combustible materials that can be used as a fuel. Some other informal groups also recover some components of solid waste at its source.

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The City Government has, therefore, designed a network for Addis Ababa City SWM System for the improvement of its management and bringing to the acceptable level of operation.

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