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Background

The Waste Management Crisis

Stockpile
Uncollected stockpile adjacent to Rally Time market community.I'm ashamed, disgusted, and concerned about the look of the city... there is dirt and litter all over the place including the graveyard.President Johnson-SirleafThe Analyst NewspaperNovember 22, 2006Monrovia is drowning in filth and trash. With the destruction of basic waste management infrastructure, solid waste is left by the roadside, in marshes, dumped adjacent to busy markets, and burned in open fires. Currently, municipal workers and independent waste handlers in Monrovia collect less than 30% of the 500-800 metric tons of waste generated daily by its 1.5M residents. Sadly, Monrovia is only one of many Liberian communities facing this challenge. The depth and breadth of this problem and the importance of resolving it have been acknowledged by the national and municipal governments of Liberia; along with the International Rescue Committee, Oxfam, the World Bank, UNDP, UNICEF, the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) and others.

Families
Families affected by the waste crisis.While the Monrovia City Corporation (MCC) and other municipal and rural governments are committed to resolving this problem, they do not have the requisite expertise or resources to deal with the problem; hence, faces a myriad of competing and pressing needs. The MCC has specifically called upon the private sector and NGOs to participate in the provision of waste management services in its "Waste Management Plan for Monrovia".

Background

Liberia, and in particular, the capital, Monrovia has a serious solid waste challenge. The near total destruction and breakdown of systems and infrastructure is the result of fourteen years of civil war. With the end of the war in 2003 and the inauguration of a democratically elected government in 2006, headed by President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, DUCOR is committed to assist in addressing this waste management challenge, with private and public sector entities, and in conjunction with the government’s Interim Poverty Reduction Strategy (IPRS).

Throughout the country, garbage overwhelms numerous municipalities, and rural communities. Solid waste is disposed of indiscriminately especially in peri-urban and rural communities. Inadequate collection, treatment, and final disposal result in the pollution of ground, surface and drinking water, contaminating food, spreading deadly diseases and offensive odors, clogging drainage ditches, and serving as breeding grounds for vermin.

DUCOR has a strategic partnership with the International Rescue Committee (IRC) as well as with humanitarian, human rights, and environmental advocates to address this multi-dimensional issue. DUCOR is well positioned to build a sustaining waste management organization in Liberia. The organization is structured to work with municipalities and rural communities in partnership with community based organizations (CBOs) and the national government.

Implications of Improper Waste Management in Liberia

The improper collection, disposal, and treatment of solid waste pose serious hazards to public health, sustainable community development and the environment.

Health Impact

Health risks are significant for those residing in peri-urban and rural areas where waste collection services are lacking or nonexistent. Each year many Liberians, especially children under the age of 5 years of age, die from diseases caused by or related to improper collection, inadequate treatment, and inappropriate disposal of waste. These efforts face new challenges as the solid waste crisis in the country mounts.

The health consequences of the lack of waste management include:

Exposure to deadly diseases

Drinking Water
The waste crisis is inextricably linked to unsafe drinking water.
  • Malaria
  • River blindness
  • Encephalitis
  • Leprosy
  • Sleeping sickness
  • Dengue fever
  • Yellow fever
  • Typhoid fever
  • Bacillary dysentery

The creation of breeding grounds for pathogens and vectors

  • Poor management and unattended stockpiles of solid waste are a reservoir for bacteria and food for vermin, which can provide another route for pathogen transmission. Lice and fleas from rats, cats, dogs, and other mammals are well known carriers of disease. They are direct vectors for the transmission of viruses causing rabies. Cats for instance, can be carriers of the virus causing toxoplasmosis, which results in miscarriages and birth defects.

Contamination of the water and food supply

  • Disposal of waste near water supplies exposes the water and food supplies to harmful waste, pathogens and other toxins. This exposure, in turn, exposes the population to water and food borne diseases, toxins and other hazards.

Exposure to offensive and sometime toxic odors and fumes

  • Open air burning may cause a product like plastic to release chlorinated hydrocarbons into the air, and cause serious respiratory infections when inhaled. Landfills and open pit sites release percolating liquids and harmful organic compounds as well as heavy metals, which are detrimental to public health because they reach groundwater, streams, and rivers used for drinking, cooking, and bathing.

Exposure to untreated medical waste

  • Illness and even death from infectious disease such as HIV/AIDS and hepatitis B can result from improper disposal of medical waste and pose increasing threats to public health.

Environmental Impact

  • After emerging from war, communities need orientation and education to support the development of waste management improvements that minimize environmental degradation and maximize investment in their respective communities. The health and environmental problems caused by uncollected and improperly disposed of trash have a significant impact on current reconstruction efforts and need to be addressed.