Domestic waste management and its effects on the environment of Yaounde II

Abstract

Domestic waste management is one of the environmental challenges resulting from rapid population growth and diversification of socio-economic activities in many developing countries such as Cameroon. Poor domestic waste management has become a daunting task for municipal authorities who seem to lack the capacity to tackle the mounting waste situation. In order to strengthen waste management policies in Cameroon, the state has created a legal framework and the institutions to put the defined strategies into practice. Despite the presence of these tools, the insufficiencies of the public waste services continue to be felt in Yaounde II especially on the environment and public health. This work sets out to investigate the effects of poor management practices on the environment of Yaoundé II. Three hypotheses were established to guide the study. The research methods and techniques that were adopted and used led to the collection,processing and analysis of data. A mixed methodology was used which combined the use of questionnaires and interview data with observations and field complemented the data. Additional data was obtained through field surveys where a total of 137 respondents from the 14 quarters of Yaoundé II actively responded. The outcome of the data collected, treated, analysed and interpreted revealed that the increasing sources of waste management are as a result of an increase in population and household activities 46% and diversification of socio-economic activities 54%. Also, all respondents believe that the waste produced has surpassed the management capacity in Yaounde II. The study also reveals that 83% of the respondents do not think that the policies and institutions involved in waste management are efficient as opposed to just 17% who believe they are. In the assessment of the environmental effects, it was realized that air pollution swarm the study area representing 39% followed by aesthetic pollution (26%), blocked drains (18%), water pollution (10%) and lastly, soil pollution (7%). The study equally found out that the sector is not entirely negative as waste is used in the agricultural sector (27%), it has led to the creation of jobs (30%), it has given the rise to some innovations (16%) and the promotion of collaboration between stakeholders (21%). Based on these findings, it has been argued that the solution to the worsening environmental conditions in Yaounde II lies in the prioritization of collaborations not just between state stakeholders but also with the populations involved which should be backed up by inputs of financial resources.