Systems analysis of municipal solid waste management and recycling system in east Africa: benchmarking performance in Kigali city, Rwanda

Abstract

This study assessed the current status of solid waste management (SWM) in the City of Kigali (CoK), the capital city of Rwanda. This assessment was done using systems analysis methodology of “wasteaware” benchmark indicators for integrated sustainable waste management in cities. This method of assessing helps to assess the Municipal Solid Waste Management (MSWM) in a city according to its physical components and governance features. Data were collected during a 6-month period from May to October 2017, but verification took other four months (Up to February 2018). Data were obtained from official reports, legal documents, and interviews with key personnel and operators and also from official and unofficial dumpsites visits. In CoK, approximately 232,870 tons of MSW is generated per year, MSW collection and transportation is done by private companies but the only dumpsite present in Kigali is fully controlled by the City of Kigali. Residents pay waste collectors according to their social classes and their locations. There is no official recycling system; recycling activities are informally performed by private companies and some wastes, like plastic bottles, are taken to Uganda and Tanzania to be recycled. This study found that the recycling rate was 10% contrarily to the 2% which is recorded by official sources. This study has contributed by filling the gap in literature on waste management for the city of Kigali and it recommends that the Government represented by the CoK should do more in terms of investing in SWM and creating a relationship between private waste collectors and local communities, and the private sector should be mobilized to invest in SWM activities.