Solid waste management in Ugandan developing cities: Material flow analysis and sustainable practices for reducing...

Area of Science:

• Environmental Science
• Waste Management
• Urban Planning

Background:

• Low-income cities face challenges in solid waste management (SWM), leading to open dumping and burning.
• Gulu, Uganda, struggles with municipal solid waste (MSW) management due to inadequate financial resources.
• Informal waste flows contribute to environmental and health concerns in developing urban areas.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze the SWM system in Gulu, Uganda, including informal waste flows.
• To evaluate the effectiveness of St. Mary's Lacor Hospital's SWM system.
• To identify replicable sustainable practices to mitigate SWM's global warming potential.

Main Methods:

• Conducted a material flow analysis of solid waste in Gulu.
• Characterized waste composition and evaluated the hospital's SWM system.
• Assessed the financial and managerial competence of the hospital's SWM initiatives.

Main Results:

• The hospital's SWM system demonstrates financial and managerial competence, offering a model for Gulu.
• Sustainable practices at the hospital can be replicated to reduce SWM's environmental impact.
• Appropriate MSW disposal by 2030 could avoid approximately 17,000 metric tons of CO2-eq emissions annually (2030-2050).

Conclusions:

• Replicating the hospital's SWM model can foster recycling and sustainable waste valorization in Gulu.
• Effective SWM strategies are crucial for mitigating global warming potential in low-middle income cities.
• The study provides valuable insights for waste management planners on appropriate technologies for developing cities.