Assessment of Current Situation of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) Management in Khartoum State

Abstract

Waste accumulation, disposal and treatment are serious problem worldwide, particularly in developing countries. In Sudan, the issue gets more challenging as there are no clear defined strategies for efficient and effective management of all types of waste. However, Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) imposes serious environmental risks on Sudanese communities and drains a considerable portion of the local economy. Unorganized MSW disposal system, increase in population leads stress on ecosystems and disturbs various nature cycles and human health. This study aims to shed light on the current situation of MSW management in Khartoum State and ensure that waste management practices and manual procedures are followed. The study covers the seven localities of Khartoum State namely Khartoum, Omdurman, Bahary, JabelAulia, Umbadda, Sharg ElNile, and Karary. The results show that the number of population in Khartoum State is 8,643,559 in 2020. Thus, distribution of population is varied within the localities and the highest number of population is 1,635,361 in Umbadda locality. The total average of generated waste in tons/cap/day for Khartoum State is 6,279,405 during the period from 2016 to 2020.The result indicated that highly significant positive correlation (r= 0.943) between number of population and the total generated waste during the period from 2016 to 2020, although in the localities there is a negative relation between number of population and the generated waste in 2019 (r=-0.1848). The classification of waste in Khartoum state during the period from 2013 to 2020 includes organic material 49.5%, dust and ash 13.4%,  plastic 12.7%,  paper and cardboard 11.8%, cotton and jute 4.6 % , glass 3.5% ,metals 1.7%, leather 0.4%, couch 0.3%,wood 0.2%,others 1.9%. The study identified three landfills in Khartoum State namely; AbuWlidat, Hattab and Tayba landfill as well as four transfer stations in Khartoum State, two in Omdurman city, one in Khartoum city -whereas the fourth one in Khartoum North city (Bahary) has been closed. Five new transfer stations are under construction namely; Soba and Alandlus (in Khartoum city) Wad-dafeeaa (in Khartoum North city) Abu-seid and Karary (in Omdurman city). The informative interview results concluded that lack of proper waste management practices in Khartoum State.