Solid Waste management in Kumba-Cameroon

The increasing household solid waste generated in Kumba has not been accompanied with adequate sanitation facilities and management programs. Inadequate waste disposal facility is one of the numerous waste management problems. The disposal method used in the municipality is open dumping which has associated health and environmental risks such as; contamination of underground water, odor, unpleasant view, proliferation of flies and other pests which are carriers of disease causing microorganisms (pathogen) and green house gas emissions (methane and CO2). The purpose of this study is to systematically quantify and characterize household solid waste in order to propose a conceptual design layout of a sanitary landfill. This new landfill offers valuable option for waste disposal since it is expected to deal with the environmental and health hazards caused by open dump practice. If sanitary landfills are conducted properly, the negative environmental impacts can be mitigated. The methodology used consisted firstly of; the collection of primary and secondary data on household waste generation.