A Review of Landfill Gas Generation and Utilisation in Africa

Abstract

This review evaluates the current Landfill Gas (LFG) utilisation technology across Africa and gives general overview on the global context. With the increase in global Municipal Solid Waste (MSW), the world has embraced landfilling to be its major way of MSW management. About 85% of the world's MSW is deposited in landfills. This has brought increased concerns of gases emitted from landfill sites. These gases have contributed enormously to the global anthropogenic Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emission which are detrimental to the world's environmental media. Although significant progress has been made on the utilization of landfill gases but this is limited to some developed countries, while in Africa, there has been limited strategies and control of LFG emissions. This review spotted several reasons that could have influenced the low development of LFG utilisation in Africa as ranging from lack of skilled expertise, inadequate knowledge of the technology involved, lack of political will, inadequate funding for LFG utilization projects and monopoly of the power sector among others. It is recommended that urgent attention should be given to LFG utilisation as it can aid in acquiring carbon credits, reduction in obnoxious smell and odours, and provide the much-needed energy which is crippling the economy in Africa as well as reducing the consequences associated with the release of greenhouse gases to the environment.

Rethinking sustainability: a review of Liberia’s municipal solid waste management systems, status, and challenges

“…open dumping and burning of wastes resulting in the loss of recyclable materials. In most developing African cities, access to excellent-road infrastructure might be found in city centers, with the roads in other suburbs being in a poor conditions [59,60]. Moreover, the waste service delivery models and methods could be different in diverse urban settings, as well as various cities and towns.…”

“…The collection rate of waste remains ineffective and varies between cities. There is a tendency for waste collectors to frequently collect waste from high-income neighborhoods as compared to low-income or suburban areas [59,61]. It is important to note that the important aspects of ISWM as outlined by several researchers includes the availability of statistics on waste production and composition, appropriate collection and source separation structures, as well as safe treatment and disposal systems [32,62].…”

“…Alternative waste treatment like waste-to-energy (WtE) is virtually absent in Africa, with only a few successful projects Johannessen and Boyer [37], such as the eThekwini landfill gas (LFG) to electricity project in Durban, South Africa, which generates 7.5 MW of electricity from two landfill sites [59,63]. Similarly, recycling of wastes in developing countries is usually carried out by the informal sector usually on a low scale and is the lesser favored disposal method even though it provides a suitable result for waste reduction.…”

“…Similarly, recycling of wastes in developing countries is usually carried out by the informal sector usually on a low scale and is the lesser favored disposal method even though it provides a suitable result for waste reduction. There is limited access to empirical data on recycling in most developing African countries because the collection of recyclables is usually carried out informally at the household level or by the informal sector [20,29,59]. The informal sector (e.g.…”

“…One of the many challenges faced in developing African countries is the inability of governments to deal with the increase waste generation and develop policies, legislation, and strategies to effectively manage waste [65]. In addition, the legal structures for waste in most developing African countries are often fragmented and their municipal solid waste regulations are weak, without any clear distinctions between governments roles and responsibilities, service providers and waste generators [44,59]. Research conducted by Ma and Hipel, [66] revealed that the effectiveness of any municipal solid waste management primarily depends on an enabling governance environment defined by social, economic and psychological factors, including public engagement, policy, and public attitudes and behavior.…”