Before arriving in Benin, I had already wondered what we would do with our rubbish. In 2002 I had been to visit the Kandi town council's rubbish disposal department, but it was a new development and I knew that not all towns in Benin have the same facilities. Here in Parakou we don't rely on outside assistance with our rubbish.
The three “R”s – reduce, re-use, recycle – are a good start. If we can use less and get used to using things again or in a different way, then we have less rubbish to deal with. This is something that people here seem to do far more instinctively than us! Recycling in Benin doesn't mean putting things into different coloured bags and handing it over to the authorities to process, it is all done at home, sometimes with a lot of imagination.
But what about what's left? Here on our compound, there there are four mission houses, and our rubbish is all put together. Any vegetable leftovers, which at home we'd put on the compost heap, are given to our neighbours' chickens. The rest of our rubbish is burned at the other side of the compound, and what is left after burning is buried on another part of the compound.
The one very visible rubbish problem in Benin (as I suspect is the case elsewhere in Africa) is the ubiquitous small black plastic bag, which comes wrapped around everything you buy. These are not recycled – or reused – and you see them lying at the side of the road everywhere. Coming from Europe where there has been such a push in the last few years to get rid of plastic bags, it is something you can't help noticing.
The three “R”s – reduce, re-use, recycle – are a good start. If we can use less and get used to using things again or in a different way, then we have less rubbish to deal with. This is something that people here seem to do far more instinctively than us! Recycling in Benin doesn't mean putting things into different coloured bags and handing it over to the authorities to process, it is all done at home, sometimes with a lot of imagination.
But what about what's left? Here on our compound, there there are four mission houses, and our rubbish is all put together. Any vegetable leftovers, which at home we'd put on the compost heap, are given to our neighbours' chickens. The rest of our rubbish is burned at the other side of the compound, and what is left after burning is buried on another part of the compound.
The one very visible rubbish problem in Benin (as I suspect is the case elsewhere in Africa) is the ubiquitous small black plastic bag, which comes wrapped around everything you buy. These are not recycled – or reused – and you see them lying at the side of the road everywhere. Coming from Europe where there has been such a push in the last few years to get rid of plastic bags, it is something you can't help noticing.
1 comment:
just mentioned this to a friend and she says in south africa they used to cut these bags into thin strips and use them to knit / weave / crochet into bags that can then be sold. handles need to be made out of something else. income stream from waste material and persuades to clear up rubbish.
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