1
Introduction
Due to the large population density, production and proliferation of urban solid waste
(USW), there is the need to think over the conservation of the waste for the future
preservation of the environment.
This manual is a tool for teachers and/ or community educators for the transmission
of educational messages and for the sensitization of the school community on the
problematic of urban solid waste management (USWM) and environment
conservation.
This manual shall be as a catalyzer of community and school initiatives to address
environmental management problems.
This initiative is a contribution for the communities and students to become more
aware of the importance of solid waste management and environment conservation,
of the consequences of climate change in third world countries, especially in our
country. It is also important to highlight that it should influence the behavioral change
of people and communities, at individual or collective level.
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Objectives
• To be an additional instrument to create a healthy and environmental pollution
free environment;
• A tool to change individual and collective attitudes with the view of reducing the
forms of environmental pollution and atmospheric prevention;
• To define educator’s responsibilities under the scope of environmental
management and protection;
• To develop and promote an environmental awareness and culture in Maputo;
• To define environmental strategies for environmental and urban solid waste
management;
• To promote and develop environmental culture and awareness in Mozambique;
• To define priorities for environmental action;
• To promote dialogue and encourage communities and schools to preserve the
environment.
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Urban Solid Waste Managemement
a) What are Urban Solid Wastes?
Urban Solid Waste or commonly known as
garbage, are leftovers of human activities that are
regarded as being useless, undesirable or
disposable. However, even though they don’t
have any value for the generator, they can still
have some value for third parties (taking into
consideration that we are promoting the reduction,
reuse and recycling of USW)
b) How urban solid wastes are classified?
According to Article 6 of the Ordinance on Urban Solid Waste Cleaning of Maputo
Municipality, solid waste can be:
Classification Composition Examples Domestic Solid
Waste
Waste produced throughout the daily activities
from households, apartments and
condominiums
Leftovers of food, waste from
houses, etc;
Commercial solid
waste
Waste generated throughout daily activity from
business establishments, public institutions,
restaurants and/ or similar institutions, that are
discharged in equipment in environmentally
acceptable conditions
Paper, cardboard, etc;
Hazardous solid
waste
Waste that has risk characteristics for being
inflammable, explosive, corrosive, toxic,
infectious or radioactive or because they have
other characteristics that are harmful for the
human life or health, for other living beings and
for the quality of the environment, when
handled or discharged in inappropriate
manners.
Batteries, fridges, AC,
fluorescent light bulbs,
refrigerators, lubricants oils,
paints and solvents
(containing RS – harmful
chemical substances).
Non hazardous
waste
All other waste that pose no harm or risk to
public health
Bottles, soda cans, iron and
glass.
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Biomedical waste All those waste that is generated in health care
facilities (hospitals and health care centers)
resulting from the activities of human and
veterinary diagnosis, treatment and research.
Bandages used syringes,
human organs resulting from
surgery and/ or expired drugs.
Industrial solid
waste
Waste generated from the industrial activity.
These are different and have different
characteristics because they depend on the
manufactured product.
Waste from
gardens or
private areas
Resulting from the preservation or
maintenance of private gardens
Branches, leaves, etc.
Organic waste All waste resulting from biodegradable
products, which decompose naturally.
Remains of animals and
plants (fruits, vegetables)
Inorganic/ inert
waste
All waste resulting from non-biodegradable
products
Glass, plastic, metal
Source: Ordinance on USW Cleaning in Maputo (2008)
Components and Activities of the Cleaning System
The cleaning system, starting from its production up to the final disposal assumes the
systematic and detailed knowledge of its composition, because for the development
of any urban solid waste management activity that includes the component of
production, placement, collection and transportation, storage and transfer, use,
disposal and final destination, it is necessary to know the nature of the waste involved.
Production
The quantity (production) and quality (composition) of urban solid waste are basic
parameters for the dimensioning of the urban solid waste management system. The
quantity defines the necessary capacity of the collection and transportation system
while the quality allows evaluating, for instance, the potential for recycling, among
other aspects of urban solid waste management (M/P, 2008)
Disposal
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In accordance to Article 13 from the Ordinance on cleaning, waste generators must
dispose urban solid waste under the terms and conditions defined, with focus to
essential environmental, hygienic, sanitary and urban aesthetical care, and the period
for disposal (photo)
Collection It refers to the collection process of stored waste, by the generator to channel it using
appropriate transportation, to a possible transfer station, for possible treatment and
final disposal
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Transportation
It refers to any physical transfer operation of waste within national territory. (Decree
13/2006: article 1). The transportation of domiciliary waste generated in households,
public facilities and in small business institutions is
done, in general, by the municipal body responsible
for waste collection.
USW transportation is done using two specific
methods: one with conventional vehicles and the
second with non-conventional vehicles. Conventional
USW collection vehicles are specialized equipment
for collection and have a certain convenience for this
type of operation. These vehicles can be with or without compaction. Compaction
vehicles can be of side or back loading.
storage
To store domiciliary solid waste means to gather USW in reusable containers for
collection in an environmentally appropriate manner. These
containers must be compatible with the type and quantity of
waste
Transfer Transfer is the process of storing the urban solid waste in a centralized or primary area
in order to be removed to another appropriate area. There is transfer in small scale,
where micro enterprises or cooperatives bring their waste to a centralized area in order
for the waste to be removed by municipal or private trucks; and there is transfer in
large scale, where the waste is transferred from a compactor or small trucks to larger
trailer trucks.
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Treatment It refers to mechanical, physical, thermal, chemical or biological processes including
the segregation, which changes waste characteristics in order to reduce its volume or
hazardousness and to facilitate its disposal (Decree 13/2006: article 1).
USW treatment is not done in Maputo City, with the exception of FERTILIZA, a
cooperative that treats organic USW for composting. According to Maputo City’s
Master Plan for USWM, there is not, yet, an USW treatment system.
Reuse
According to nr. 2 of Article 14 of the Ordinance on USW cleaning of Maputo City, it is
up to the Municipal Council to define and perform all activities with the aim of
stimulating the private sector’s participation in USW reuse activities.
Discharge and Final Disposal of Urban Solid Waste
Disposal means the performance of any operation that doesn’t lead to the possibility
of recovery, recycling, regeneration, direct reuse or alternative uses of the waste.
Disposal means the final destination to give to waste (Decree 13/2006: article 1).
The Hulene Municipal Dumpsite receives different types of urban solid waste from all
sectors and geographic and economic areas of Maputo city. Estimates show that
around 80% of all municipal waste generated in the city is disposed at Hulene
Municipal Dumpsite.
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WHAT TO DO WITH THE URBAN SOLID WASTE (USW)?
Currently, urban solid waste has a broad range of utilities, i.e., it might be garbage for
some and income source for others.
USW collection and transportation services are under the responsibility of each
municipality. In Maputo City, these services are under the responsibility of the
Municipal Directorate of Urban Solid Waste Management and Sanitation.
a) Regular Collection - it is the waste collection service. Its purpose is to collect
the waste generated at household, businesses and small industries, as long as
they have a composition similar to domiciliary waste and comply with municipal
norms.
b) Transportation - when the distances between the collection and disposal sites
are vast, it might be necessary the implementation of auxiliary transportation
facilities. At these sites, the waste is transferred from collection trucks to larger
trucks that will transport the waste to the final destination.
c) Sanitary landfill - it is an engineering work which purpose is to dispose the
waste into the soil, in the least space possible, without causing damages to the
environment or to the public health. In the landfill, the waste can be disposed
in layers, compacted by special tractors and daily covered with earth to avoid
rainwater infiltration, the action of disease transmitting vectors and the action
of winds that spread light materials.
Sanitary landfills, at least with the current technological conditions, shall always be
necessary, since it is almost
impossible to reuse or destroy all
materials in the waste, either due to
technical difficulties or due to
economic unfeasibility.
Besides this, all treatment processes
generate leftovers that need to be
discharged. However, it is not recommended as the only solution for major urban
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centers since, at short term, there will be no more space available to receive the large
quantities of waste that are collected daily. The alternative to identify remote sites for
the construction of sanitary landfills is not often feasible, due to high transportation
costs and to the scarcity of available areas. With the urban expansion, free areas must
be reserved for more noble uses such as the construction of houses, parks, for
instance.
TREATMENT AND FINAL DISPOSAL OF URBAN SOLID WASTE
Currently there is no organized treatment of solid waste in Maputo. In areas without
collection services, the residents use traditional ways to dispose urban solid waste.
But this type of treatment, despite being the only alternative under the current situation,
doesn’t comply with the norms to reduce the environmental impacts. This type of
treatment must be terminated, with the implementation of the municipal program for
Urban Solid Waste Management. There are treatment proposals, especially with the
implementation of composting
Hulene Dumpsite
Maputo City has an official dumpsite for all types of waste collected in the city. The
dumpsite is located in Hulene B neighborhood, around 10km away from the city center
and near the airport. The dumpsite has a total area of around 17hec and reaches a
height of 6 to 15m due to the waste accumulated. The dumpsite is open 24 hours per
day.
Urban solid waste disposal is done without a strict control. There is no coverage of the
waste disposed, which allows the access of waste pickers. Wastepickers often
complicate the dumpsite operations because they burn the solid waste in order to
collect recyclables such as metals or cables from tires, and they stay very close or
even inside the vehicles, when they are unloading. Residents from neighboring
neighborhoods complain because of the air pollution and because other disease
vectors.
Matola Industrial Landfill for Hazardous Waste
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The Mavoco Landfill was established in 2005. This Industrial Landfill is located near
the aluminum production company, Mozal, in Matola city.
Informal Dumpsite
Due to the non-regular solid waste collection, there are in Maputo several sites with
illegal accumulation of solid waste along streets and several hills.
Near the official Hulene dumpsite there is a big hole (500m away from the Dumpsite)
which was converted into an informal dumpsite. It is not only local and neighboring
residents that use this site; private companies also use it to avoid paying the tipping
fee at Hulene dumpsite. A similar site can also be found near Xiquelene market. This
site is the result of the floods that took place in 2000.
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PRIVATE SECTOR PARTICIPATION
Currently, several private sector companies from the formal sector in Maputo and
Matola cities provide their services for the collection of commercial and industrial
waste.
Non-profitable associations and micro-enterprises from the informal sector that
perform solid waste collection services in suburban neighborhoods.
3R HIERACHY IN MAPUTO CITY
In the area of solid waste reuse, one has to analyze the three hierarchy levels to
minimize Urban Solid Waste (3R: Reduce, Reuse and Recycle):
Reduce
The reduction in Urban Solid Waste production can be achieved, mainly, during the
manufacturing process of products or thanks to residents who decide to buy only
products that produce little solid
waste.
The increase of people’s awareness on this topic is a time consuming process which
includes intensive civic and environmental education campaigns. The use of
technologies that reduce the utilization of materials and that dismiss, for instance, the
use of packages, means an important change for the economic sector. These
processes are lengthy and require, usually, high investments.
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Reuse
The reuse of some types of urban solid waste is already very common in Maputo and
in Mozambique, in general. Due to the low social and economic level, people reutilize
bulky waste especially, such as furniture, or use organic solid waste such as food for
animals, in the case of suburban or even more rural areas.
Switch photos
Recycling
Recycling is based on the reuse of materials that compose waste. Recycling technique
consists on the transformation of such materials, by changing their physical and
chemical characteristics, into new products, or even the same products. Considering
their characteristics and composition, waste can be recycled for subsequent use in the
manufacturing of new products, designed for the same purposes or for different
purposes from the original.
Recycling of products for their possible remanufacturing into the same or even new
products, such as plastics or paper, either at the source or at the final disposal site, is
not done in a formal and systematized manner.
Objectives of recycling
• To acknowledge the importance of recycling and appropriate waste segregation
for the preservation of the environment;
• To encourage appropriate waste segregation in the different ecopoints from the
municipality;
• To actively participate in the implementation of good environmental practices;
• To instil individual responsibility for the promotion of recycling
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• To instil individual accountability for the promotion of correct attitudes related
to appropriate storage of used cooking oils and its disposal at used cooking
tanks (oleões).
• To encourage each student to be speak person, at his/her house, on behalf of
good environmental practices, by promoting appropriate behaviors and
sensitizing the family on the importance of behavior change and in the
implementation of strategies, taking into consideration the role of each
individual in the sustainable development.
Advantages of recycling
• To integrate underprivileged population in non-profitable cooperatives
• To socially integrate the population and organize informal operators into
associations;
• To minimize USW accumulation problems in public areas;
• Develop income sources
• There are many benefits of recycling, such as: savings on energy, more
preservation of natural resources, reduction of buried waste, reduction of
negative environmental impacts, among others.
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SEPARATE COLLECTION
AT SCHOOL, CONDOMINUM, ENTERPRISE, AT THE COMMUNITY, AT THE MUNICIPALITY
Separate collection and waste recycling play an important role for the environment.
Through them, it is possible to recover material that otherwise would be disposed in
the nature. The threat of exhaustion of non-renewable natural resources increases the
need to reuse recyclable materials that are separated in the waste separated collection.
The purpose of this publication is to show the main steps for the implementation of a
collection system, in a simple and objective manner.
WHAT IS SEPARATE COLLECTION?
It is a recyclable collection system: papers, plastic, glass, metal and organic waste,
previously segregated at the generator source and that can be reused or recycled.
Separate collection also works as an environmental education process in the sense
that it sensitizes the community on the problem of wastefulness of natural resources
and of waste related pollution.
Advantages of segregated collection
Several segments of a community can participate in the segregated collection program,
each doing its role and benefiting from the results. An example of this is the partnership
between waste generator and segregated collection entities (condominiums, schools,
companies, etc.) and cooperatives and associations that will receive the segregated
materials and that, often, shall be in charge for their collection.
To contribute for the improvement of the environment by:
• Reducing the exploitation of natural resources
• Reducing energy consumption
• Reducing soil, air and water pollution
• Extending the lifespan of sanitary landfills
• Making feasible the recycling of materials that otherwise would go for the
dumpsite
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• Reducing the production costs with the reuse of recyclables by the industries
• Reducing the waste
• Reducing expenditures with urban cleaning
• Creating opportunities to strengthen community organizations
• Generating employment and income from the marketing of the recyclables.
Relation between Material-Natural Resource-Raw Materials
Material Natural Resource Raw Material
Paper Forest/ Tree (Renewable) Wood
Metal Buxite+siderite Paperita Magnetite+iron Carbon+ cuprite (Non-Renewable)
Aluminum Iron Steel Copper
Plastic Oil (Non-Renewable)
Polietilene, vinil, PVC
Glass Sand (Non-Renewable)
Silica, barrílica, fluorspar, limestone
Source:
Recycling Recycling & Economy
By recycling, one saves natural resources.
Quantity Recyclable Non-recyclable
1ton of recycled paper avoids the logging of 15 to 20 trees, saves 50% of electricity and 10.000m3 of water
- Newspaper and magazines - Sheets of exercise books - Boxes - Scraps of paper - photocopies - envelops - scratch paper - old cardboard - fax paper
- sticking paper - capapel bon paper and
cellophane - Crepe tape - Toilet paper - Metallic paper - Paraffined paper - Laminated paper - Napkin - Cigarette but - Photographies
1ton of recycled aluminum avoids the extraction of 5tons of aluminum ore. 100tons of recycled steel save 27 kWh of electricity and 5 trees used as coal for the processing of iron ore.
- tinplates - bottle caps - oil and fod cans - soda, juice and beer cans
- clips - steel sponges - clamps - drawing pins
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Quantity Recyclable Non-recyclable - aluminum - metallic packages of frozen
food
- nails - pipes
100tons of recycled plastic avoids the extraction of 1ton of oil
- tubes and pipes - sacks - CDs - diskettes - butter and cleaning
products packaging - PET packaging: soda, juice
and cooking oil - Plastic, in general
- Pan handles - Sockets
1ton of recycled glass avoids the extraction of 1,3tons of sand.
- Packages in general - bottles - glasses
- mirrors - plain and crystal glass - ceramics and porcelain - TV and computer tubes
Source:
DECOMPOSITION TIME
(This time can vary according to environmental conditions.)
Type of material Estimated decomposition time
Organic leftovers 2 to 12 months
Paper 3 months to several years
Cigarette filters 3 months to several years
Wood 6 months
Gums 5 years
Steel cans 10 years
Aluminum cans More than 1000 years
Plastic More than 100 years
Glass More than 10 000 years
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Biography
1. Município de Maputo, Conselho Municipal. 2008. Plano Director, Gestão de
Resíduos Sólidos Urbanos na Cidade de Maputo.
2. SOTEGE. Lda. 2013. Relatório Final do Levantamento da Situação Actual –
Estudo de Base – 3R. Projecto para a Promocão de Actividades Sustentáveis de
3R na Cidade de Maputo, República de Maçambique.
3. Governo do Estado de São Paulo, Secretaria do Meio Ambiente. Coleta Seletiva,
Como Fazer.
4. São Paulo (Estado) Secretaria do Meio Ambiente / Coordenadoria de Educação
Ambiental. 2011. Guia Pedagógico do Lixo. 6a edição (revista e atualizada) São
Paulo. ISBN 978.85.62251-01-6.
5. São Paulo (Estado) Secretaria do Meio Ambiente / Coordenadoria de
Planejamento Ambiental. 2010. 1. Resíduos Sólidos 2. Educação Ambiental I.
Título. II. Série. ISBN – 978-85-86624-69-8