KIGALI, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- Rapidly increasing urbanization of African cities has placed significant pressure on the continent's economies in terms of solid waste management which requires the adoption of appropriate technologies, most of which are not readily available in Africa, experts said Tuesday in Kigali, capital city of Rwanda.
Speaking at an interactive session dubbed "Papers on Solid Waste Management and Liquid Waste Management" on the sidelines of the 2nd edition of Africa Engineering Conference, panelists pointed out that the inability of African countries to make efficient use of their waste through re-use poses a serious challenge to waste disposal on the continent.
Rwanda hosts the conference from Sept. 25 to 29 under the theme "Effective Waste Management in Africa," which focuses more on promoting professional engineering in Africa to drive infrastructure growth.
"African countries need to adopt a set of appropriate technologies that will assist them to convert waste into re-usable assets. Total system planning, which involves developing the most suitable mix of infrastructure and services to manage the solid waste," said Aime Muzola, CEO of Rwanda's Water and Sanitation Corporation Authority.
He added that the refusal of common waste management practices in Africa by environmentalists has made the disposal of various waste streams in the cities a lot more difficult.
At the meeting, participants pointed out that poorly built storm-water drains in most African cities are frequently clogged by solid waste, leading to flooding and water contamination, posing a health risk to urban dwellers.
According to the World Bank, the worlds' cities in 2012 generated 1.3 billion tons of solid waste, amounting to 1.2 kilograms per person per day.
With rapid population growth and urbanization around the world, municipal waste generation is expected to rise to 2.2 billion tons by 2025.
The five-day conference was organized by Rwanda's ministry of infrastructure in collaboration with the Institute of Engineering Rwanda and Federation of Africa Engineering Organizations. It has attracted about 1,000 delegates, including government officials, consultants, and civil society in general together with local, regional and international engineers, according to organizers.
