SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT IN THE URBAN CENTERS OF MOZAMBIQUE: CASE STUDY FROM THE CITY OF NAMPULA

Abstract

This article results from the observation that solid waste management in small and large cities has become one of the biggest urban challenges today, due to its danger to public health and the environment. Therefore, the article aims to analyze how the treatment and final disposal of urban solid waste is carried out in the city of Nampula. The theoretical-methodological perspective adopted consisted of qualitative studies, with a bibliographic and descriptive nature. Data were collected through semi-structured interview and survey techniques, direct observation, photographic recording and georeferencing of transitory deposits using GPS. The research involved 23 social subjects, 3 of whom were interviewed and 20 people were questioned. The results obtained allow us to affirm that the model of waste treatment in the storage spaces or in the “dumps” of the city of Nampula is not adequate, as it presents problems such as: poor compliance with waste disposal schedules by citizens established by the authorities municipal; deposition of waste in inappropriate places resulting from insufficient packaging containers; weak waste collection capacity by municipal authorities; lack of landfills, with pre-existing open-air sites (municipal landfill) that create problems of air pollution and groundwater contamination in the surrounding area; lack of segregation, selection and recycling of waste, among other aspects. The implementation of a municipal landfill is an alternative proposed for improving waste management.