Market Waste Streams

Like many of the rapidly urbanizing cities across the African continent, Blantyre, Malawi struggles to manage it’s solid waste. Over 365,000 tonnes of solid waste per year are generated in the country’s four major cities (Lilongwe, Blantyre, Zomba and Mzuzu) of which, about 280,000 tonnes remain uncollected. Despite widespread poverty (GDP is about $400), rising incomes and access to cheap, imported goods means that plastic consumption and trash generation has risen sharply; indeed, plastic generation in low-​income countries is expected to triple by 2050.

In Blantyre, solid waste management is the responsibility of the Blantyre City Council. Operating only one or two compactor vehicles, BCC collects trash mainly richer, so-​called “formal” areas, while “skips” (also called dumpsters in other countries) have been installed to service poorer, “informal” areas as well as in strategic places such as markets and hospitals. Currently, BCC manages about 50 skips with a single (more on this later) truck that is capable of lifting, dumping, and discharging the 7m3 container.

When waste is collected, it is dumped at the Mzedi dumpsite: the only (non-​engineered) landfill serving Blantyre, despite the fact that it reached the end of its service life 20 years ago. As organics are the primary waste type in most low-​income countries, one way to extend the lifespan of the dumpsite, while reducing GHG emissions, is to divert degradable materials to separate facilities for processing and/or value generation.