Characterization of municipal waste in Kampala, Uganda

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dc.contributor.authorKomakech, Allan J.
dc.contributor.authorBanadda, Noble E.
dc.contributor.authorKinobe, Joel R.
dc.contributor.authorKasisira, Levi
dc.contributor.authorSundberg, Cecilia
dc.contributor.authorGebresenbet, Girma
dc.contributor.authorVinnerås, Bjorn
dc.date.accessioned2018-04-17T05:50:26Z
dc.date.accessioned2021-12-21T09:35:57Z
dc.date.available2018-04-17T05:50:26Z
dc.date.available2021-12-21T09:35:57Z
dc.date.issued2014-02-18
dc.descriptionThis study characterized the municipal waste generated in Kampala and delivered to Kiteezi landfill between July 2011 and June 2012 that is, covering the dry and wet months. On each sampling day, waste was randomly selected from five trucks, sorted and weighed into different physical fractions. Samples of the organic waste from each truck were analyzed for total solids, major nutrients, and energy content.en_US
dc.description.abstractIn Kampala, Uganda, about 28,000 tons of waste is collected and delivered to a landfill every month. Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) records show that this represents approximately 40% of the waste generated in the city. The remaining uncollected waste is normally dumped in unauthorized sites, causing health and environmental problems. However, the organic fraction of domestic waste can provide an opportunity to improve livelihoods and incomes through fertilizer and energy production. This study characterized the municipal waste generated in Kampala and delivered to Kiteezi landfill between July 2011 and June 2012, that is, covering the dry and wet months. On each sampling day, waste was randomly selected from five trucks, sorted and weighed into different physical fractions. Samples of the organic waste from each truck were analyzed for total solids, major nutrients, and energy content. During the wet months, the waste consisted of 88.5% organics, 3.8% soft plastics, 2.8% hard plastics, 2.2% paper, 0.9% glass, 0.7% textiles and leather, 0.2% metals, and 1.0% others. During the dry months, the waste consisted of 94.8% organics, 2.4% soft plastics, 1.0% hard plastics, 0.7% papers, 0.3% glass, 0.3% textile and leather, 0.1% metals, and 0.3% others. The organic waste on average had a moisture content of 71.1% and contained 1.89% nitrogen, 0.27% phosphorus, and 1.95% potassium. The waste had an average gross energy content of 17.3 MJ/kg. It was concluded that the organic waste generated can be a suitable source of some plant nutrients that are useful especially in urban agriculture. Implications: The result of the waste characterization in Kampala was found to be significantly different from that obtained for other Sub-Saharan African (SSA) cities, showing that studies assuming average values for the waste fractions are likely to result in erroneous results. Furthermore, no reduction in organic fraction of the waste was noticed when compared with a study done two decades ago in spite of greatly improved economic status of Kampala city, a finding that is not in agreement with several other similar studies done for other SSA cities.en_US
dc.identifier.citationAllan J. Komakech, Noble E. Banadda, Joel R. Kinobe, Levi Kasisira, Cecilia Sundberg, Girma Gebresenbet & Björn Vinnerås, 2014. Characterization of municipal waste in Kampala, Uganda, Journal of the Air & Waste Management Association, 64:3, 340-348, DOI: 10.1080/10962247.2013.861373en_US
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11951/203
dc.language.isoenen_US
dc.subjectWasteen_US
dc.subjectKampala capital city authority (KCCA)en_US
dc.subjectDumping sitesen_US
dc.subjectFertilizationen_US
dc.subjectEnergy productionen_US
dc.titleCharacterization of municipal waste in Kampala, Ugandaen_US
dc.typeArticleen_US
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The final, definitive version of this paper has been published in the Journal of the Journal of the Air & Waste Management Association, Volume 64/Issue 3, February/2014. https://doi.org/10.1080/10962247.2013.861373; published by Taylor& Francis Group, All rights reserved.
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