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Waste management is one of the greatest challenges major Nigerians cities faced. Waste is defined as any unavoidable material resulting from domestic activity or industrial operation for which there is no economic demand and which must be disposed of (Sridhar 1996). To me, it is a material waiting to be reused. There are a variety of wastes, liquid or solid, emanating from human activities (domestic), agricultural or industrial activities (neither domestic nor hazardous), and hazardous or special. Faeces, indeed is also included in solid wastes. Among the liquid wastes, sullage, sewage, livestock and industrial wastes are known among communities.It is very important to understand the wastes, their nature, problems associated with them, and how to dispose them off hygienically. In Nigeria today, there are no sewers or underground drainage system and as a result all liquid wastes find their way into water courses. There are no urinals or toilet facilities in many public areas. Schools are devoid of functional toilets. Solid wastes are found everywhere and anywhere. In Nigeria, waste is generated at the rate of 0.43 kg/head per day and 60 to 80 per cent of it is organic in nature (Sridhar2006; Ogwueleka 2009).
Wastes pose serious environmental and health problems, promote insect vectors like mosquitoes and flies (Cairncross and Feachem 1993), rats and mice, cause fire hazards, flooding of streams, development of aquatic weeds, odour problems, nuisance, and so on. The environmental impacts can be clustered into the following categories: global warming, photochemical oxidant creation, abiotic resource depletion, acidification, and eutrophication. Some of these problems are related to their major constituents, viz. carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus and sulphur.
Certain toxic heavy metals like lead, mercury, cadmium, minerals and manmade synthetic chemicals present in wastes may contribute to environmental degradation that leads to poor health, dissease or death.
THE WAY OUT
The way out of this menace is conversion of all these wastes mention above to wealth. A non-governmental organisation I know of, has been trying to combat this menace by providing skill acquisition for women/youth in Africa on how to convert all this waste to wealth.
Development Inititive for African Women (DIFAW) focuses on renewable energy projects of which we specialize in the conversion of organic/forest/agro waste into biogas and charcoal. Our raw material is from what others consider as waste products.
Biogas Digester
- Biogas has been used in India for many hundreds of years as an alternate source of fuel as well as delivering a by-product of which being organic manure which is high in nutrients.
- Nigeria has a lot of waste being produced weather it is animal feces, rotting fruits and vegetable or the toxic cassava water obtained after processing cassava. Our biogas digesters help with waste management in rural areas and use this waste and convert it into energy in the form of gas which can be use for cooking. Using waste and processing it in this form would clean up surrounding areas and thus reduce the amount of diseases caused due to these reasons.
- Lack of Manure input at appropriate times during the planting periods is a main cause of crop failure. Allowing farmers to produce their own Manure from the waste products available on their farm or surrounding areas, will allow their crops to grow successfully and supply abundant food to the nation.
- Our biogas digesters will help create employment by allowing farming families to produce more crop per cycle due to availability of Manure thus hiring their family to help them instead of sending them to cities to make a living.
- This creates a new market for Manure sales and is a way to alleviate poverty by developing a new market.
- Our biogas digester and the process the waste goes through them is one hundred percent environmentally friendly.
When adding these waste materials into our Digesters they go through an Anaerobicprocess which separates all the harmful gases from the slurry. It is this gas, which primarily consist of Methane which is then used to produce energy in the form of gas for cooking or in other cases when the scale of the projects are bigger, then into electricity.
Once all the harmful elements are separated from the mixture we are left with Slurry which we call Organic Manure. This Slurry is very high in Nutrients, which n turn is beneficial to the soil as well as crops. Organic Manureproduced this way has close to 100% germination and increases the longevity of the soil.
Our biogas digesters are safe, reliable and result based. They will help develop and solve problems that Nigerian rural farmers are facing and benefit the country on the whole. The results are undeniable and once put into place will be beneficial.
Charcoal
Charcoal is a primary source of cooking fuel in Nigeria and to supply charcoal in these quantities, 40 million trees are cut every year. Our method uses Forest/Agrowaste and converts it into charcoal.
This process is very simple and gives a finished product where the charcoal gives less than 2% Smoke and the ash is high in Phosphorus. This ash can be used as an additive to Manures or can be put directly into farmlands because of its high content of Phosphorus.
40 million trees are being cut down each year in Nigeria to supply a source of cooking fuel. With the felling of trees a lot of problems such as soil erosion, gully problems, deforestation, desertification and pollution are created.
Our method of converting dry organic/forest/agro waste into charcoal will solve these problems and reduce respiratory diseases in the country, if aggressively implemented.
There is a lot of waste being produced or lying around such as ground nut shells, sugarcane shavings, corn cobs, branches, twigs, leaves, etc. Why not use this waste and convert it into charcoal thus clearing surrounding areas as well as providing a source of fuel from waste.
- Implementing this project will create employment for youths and women in rural and urban areas and help with waste management at the same time.
- Charcoal produced this way has less than 2% smoke and is not carcinogenic like charcoal made from wood or just using wood as cooking fuel. This will help prevent diseases in women and children and help save the environment.
- A balance between collection, burning and molding of the charcoal needs to be put in place in order to have continuous supply of charcoal.
This project could be efficiently introduced in Nigeria, at a time when over 100,000 trees are cut every day to feed the needs of over 120milion Nigerians, using special Drums to produce charcoal from waste as a solution.
This technology uses no electricity or mechanical instruments. It can be operated by the village folks, not having any formal education. They do not have to be literate. There is zero maintenance of drums. The drums could be shifted from place to place, where forest/agro waste is found. The materials could be burnt and sent to the required place for processing.
With support, it will be possible to set up several processing points, creating huge employment opportunities and income for the villagers throughout Nigeria, eliminating unemployment.
WEALTH FROM POLYTHENE (NYLON, CELLOPHANE) WASTE
The management of nylon and plastic waste has been a major issue all over the world. Polythene bags have become so common and a part of our everyday life that it would seem hard to imagine a world without them. We have grown so used to them that no one stops to give a thought to the impact it has on the environment. It is very alarming, when you consider the many products that rely on plastic bags for their packaging all over the world. Where do all these bags end up at the end of the day? “Green Life Magazine”
The answer is simple, in our drainages, streets, highways and rural areas. This litter due to its non-degradable nature tends to stay where it landed for a very long time, blocking our drainages and increasing flooding in our streets and villages, as witnessed recently in Nigeria.
In DIFAW, we have found ways of creating wealth using the polythene waste, thereby cleaning the environment and reducing the effects of blocked drainages, DIFAW women are currently engaged in the use of polythene waste to make hand bags, baskets, table and floor mats. They are durable, washable, re useable and recyclable. This has created employment and generated income in our rural areas with little start up capital.
Having knowledge of what hazards the polythene waste has on the environment is not enough action is needed to control the menace.
CORN HUSKS WASTE
To rid our streets, high ways, drains, gutters and neighbourhoods of wastes from corn husks, DIFAW researched and found ways of converting the corn husks into wealth.
We train our women/youths on how to make beautiful shopping/picnic bags and laundering baskets using corn husks.
What could have being a source of concern for any Nation, DIFAW sees as raw materials for our economic projects.
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WEALTH FROM FABRIC WASTE
There is a lot of fabric waste generated by tailors lying around and trashing our Streets and Communities, and almost always end up clogging our Drainages and causing Floods all over the nation. At DIFAW, we convert these fabric wastes into Table and Floor Mats, Blankets, Bed Covers and Bags.
DECORATIVE BROOMS OF ELEPHANT GRASS
Overgrown Elephant Grass not only looks untidy, but could also obstruct vision of drivers and road users. DIFAW cleans up highways and communities by turning the elepant grass into brooms for decorative purposes.
Luvly article. but admin, can we have the procedure to which these wastes can be converted to wealth?
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