International Conference to discuss waste issues in Africa
An international conference was held in Yokohama to discuss waste issues in Africa, and it was confirmed that support would be strengthened, such as disseminating Japanese waste disposal technology.
This international conference was organized by the Ministry of the Environment and other organizations, and ACCP = “African clean city platform” was attended by government officials from 36 African countries.
In Africa, the problem of waste in urban areas has become more serious with population growth and economic development. In February last year, garbage piled up at a disposal site in Mozambique collapsed, resulting in the death of 17 residents. Is happening.
At the meeting, Environment Minister Harada said, “Many countries in Africa are unable to cope with the increasing waste, and garbage is piled up to face the problems of collapse and environmental pollution.” I showed the policy.
Then, after adopting the “Yokohama Code of Conduct” and introducing the Japanese waste treatment technology called “Fukuoka Method” to the disposal site in Mozambique, it will be disseminated to African countries, and human resources for waste management will be developed. To establish a training center in Africa.
This action guideline will be reported to the TICAD = African Development Conference, which will be held from the 28th, and is expected to be included in the “Yokohama Declaration” that aims to be adopted.
Current status and issues related to waste
According to a report compiled by the World Bank last year, the amount of garbage produced in the year 2016 was 174 million tons in an area called “Sub-Saharan” south of the Sahara Desert.
According to the Ministry of the Environment, this is about four times the amount of general waste in Japan per year.
According to the report, if population growth and economic development continue at the same pace in the future, it will be tripled to 516 million tons in 2050, making it the most waste-increasing region in the world.
According to the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), services related to the collection and disposal of garbage are not widespread, and there are places where garbage brought in is still piled up at disposal sites in urban areas.
As the garbage collapses and there are a series of accidents and fires that kill residents, the management and disposal of waste is a major issue.
“Fukuoka Method” Initiatives in Africa
There are a number of serious accidents in the background of African countries asking Japan to support waste disposal technology.
In African countries, as the population grows, the amount of garbage increases, and a large amount of garbage is often piled up and left at the disposal site.
Of these, at the disposal site in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, garbage is still piled up to about 50 meters high.
Two years ago, there was an accident where a garbage mountain collapsed, and according to local reports, more than 200 people, including those living by picking up plastic and metal, were killed.
In response to the accident, this disposal site has been undergoing a renovation project that applied the landfill technology called “Fukuoka Method” since last year with the support of the Japanese government.
The “Fukuoka Method” is a technology developed by Fukuoka University in cooperation with Fukuoka City and adopted in many landfills in Japan.
It is characterized by discharging sewage through pipes under landfill garbage and putting outside air to promote microbial activity and expedite decomposition. It is attracting attention.
In the field, experts from Fukuoka University and staff of UN agencies provided technical guidance. Not only employees at the garbage disposal site but also people living by picking up garbage were hired as workers, and civil engineering work was carried out. We also helped create jobs by teaching technology.
In the future, the specialists who support the project will not only develop the technology, but also promote the creation of a comprehensive system that combines local people's human resource development and efficient methods of collecting garbage. It points out that it is necessary to go.
Supporting human resource development for waste treatment
One of the policies presented at this meeting is to support the development of human resources for waste management and disposal.
Along with the meeting, training is conducted for one month to learn about the latest state of waste disposal in Japan and make use of it in your own country.
Personnel from government agencies from about 10 countries, including South Africa and Botswana, participated and visited the factory of a company in Yokohama that recycles plastic waste on the 21st of this month.
In this company, the plastic was crushed together with wood scraps, dried and recycled into solid fuel, so the participants watched the removal of large amounts of garbage and removal of metal etc. .
According to the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), many African countries do not separate and collect garbage, and people who participate in the training are currently taking all the garbage to the disposal site. And others were eagerly asking questions such as the cost of recycling and how management was established.
A man who is in charge of public health in Lusaka, the capital of Zambia, said, “Thank you for seeing Japanese technology. The Japanese knows how to separate the garbage, and the government instructs Even if it wasn't done, I felt that it was very important for the citizens to cooperate with the government. "
In addition to continuing such training regularly in Japan, we will establish a training center in Africa to create a system for Japanese staff to visit and give guidance.