TITLE:
Current Situation Analysis and Suggestions for Solid Waste Management Practices among Households in Freetown
AUTHORS:
Patrick Fayia Kanty, Mohamed Yateh, Yongji Zhang
KEYWORDS:
Freetown, Municipal Solid Waste Management, Waste Composition, Waste Disposal, Waste Generation
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Geoscience and Environment Protection,
Vol.12 No.3,
March
25,
2024
ABSTRACT: Freetown which is the capital city of Sierra Leone is facing challenges
with population growth, urbanization, and industrialization, leading to an
increase in municipal solid waste (MSW) generation. The study aims to evaluate
MSW generation, composition, and disposal methods, as well as the impact of
collection fees, policy implementation, and women’s participation in municipal
solid waste management (MSWM). The study used both qualitative and quantitative
methods for data collection and analysis. The study administered 393 structured
questionnaires in three selected sections to collect data on variables such as
family size, education, level of knowledge, etc. The study used door-to-door
data collection to determine the rate of solid waste generation, composition,
and disposal in 66 households from two of the selected sections and 34
households from the other section to evaluate the current situation of MSWM
practices among households in Freetown. The study used a descriptive statistic
to analyze the data collected using Origin-Pro9 and MS Excel software. The findings
showed that with a 4.2% urban growth rate, Freetown had a population of
1,467,543 in 2023, generating 851 tons of MSW per day, with organic waste
accounting for 78% of the total MSW generated. Plastic waste generation also
increased from 7.6% in 2020 to 13% in 2023. The study emphasizes the need to
sustain the MSWM system by prioritizing solid waste collection fees, policy
enforcement, and women’s participation in the MSWM sector. It further suggests
and provides recommendations for developing an efficient and sustainable MSWM
system in Sierra Leone, including knowledge transfer from countries like China
and the US.