Selection and Implementation of an Optimal System to Handle Garbage in Kigali, Rwanda

Sammanfattning: Reports from various institutions claim that garbage management in Rwanda has had diverse effects on both the natural environment and human society. Such claims prompted for an exploratory study to find out an optimal system to handle solid waste in Kigali City. The study considered a literature review and primary data from 400 randomly selected citizens. They were surveyed about their opinions on which system they perceived to be the optimal to handle garbage in Kigali City. The computer software Web-Hipre was used to analyze data on the three systems considered to handle solid waste in Rwanda: briquetting, composting, and incineration.The results indicate briquetting as the optimal alternative to handle solid waste from homesteads and workplaces of Kigali City. Briquetting considers production of solid fuels that may reduce destruction of forests for fuel. Other major reasons for briquetting, highlighted by respondents, include improved kitchen hygiene and sanitation and replacement of charcoal for a less dusty fuel. Economic factors governed surveyed participants to prioritise briquetting system to handle solid waste in Kigali. Composting may be considered for transforming organic materials into mulch to support farming activities in rural areas as well as gardening in the towns. However, a centralised incineration system is presently not suitable. The private sector has so far not fully been engaged in the transformation of solid waste into bioenergy in Rwanda.