Whilst Cameroon’s major cities already have waste collection infrastructure in place, sorting and treatment capacities are more limited, or even non-existent, in medium-sized towns. The Cameroonian government has commissioned setec to carry out a study to assess needs and propose operational solutions for these local authorities.
“We began by carrying out a detailed analysis, with a 20-year forecast: some towns are already experiencing rapid population growth, while others will see waste volumes remain more limited,” says Karine Escande, project manager at setec Énergie Environnement.
The next challenge was to define the infrastructure suited to these different needs, with a roadmap adapted to each town. “The final report, due in 2025, proposes a modular solution that allows for a gradual increase in sorting and recovery capacity in line with population growth,” continues Karine Escande. “This staged approach allows the local authority to train teams in collection and sorting tools using small volumes, before increasing the quantities if necessary.” From a financial perspective, the method also has the advantage of distributing investments over time and optimising operating costs.
The setec report also lays the foundations for a strategy to recover this waste, which is mainly organic. “Cameroon is an agricultural country where there are already advanced composting initiatives: we have studied the feasibility of deploying these practices nationwide to produce local compost as an alternative to chemical fertilisers imported from abroad,” says Karine Escande.