From trash to power!

Nkweauseh Reginald Longfor, a doctoral candidate at Sophia University in Japan, explains how to harness energy from Africa's rubbish dumps, and save billions in future damage.

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THE ECONOMIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL DAMAGE 

About 70% of municipal solid waste ends up in landfills or unregulated sites. In sub-Saharan Africa, for instance, 24% of waste is disposed of in landfills, while the rest is left on open dumps, streets, rivers, and other unsuitable locations.

We live in a society where waste is often disposed of without considering the cost to either the consumer or the producer. Waste decomposing in landfills releases greenhouse gases. The release of carbon dioxide, nitrates and hydrogen sulphides can harm people’s health, either by polluting the air we breathe or contaminating nearby water sources.

My research argues that this poorly disposed of waste also causes economic damage. To determine this economic damage, we compared the ongoing costs of poor waste management in 44 sub-Saharan African countries between now and 2060, with the costs of better waste management practices such as sanitary landfills and anaerobic digestion.

WHAT ARE ANAEROBIC DIGESTION AND SANITARY LANDFILLS?

Anaerobic digestion is a natural process that uses an anaerobic digester (a sealed container) in which microorganisms such as bacteria convert organic waste into biogas.

The most energy-rich component of biogas is methane, which makes up 50% to 75% of its content, depending on the type of waste and operating conditions.