ANB-BIA SUPPLEMENT

ISSUE/EDITION Nr 323 - 01/05/1997

CONTENTS | ANB-BIA HOMEPAGE

The Congo

"Avobra", or rubbish recycling

by Josiane-Stella Filla, Congo, January 1997

THEME = ECOLOGY

INTRODUCTION

There's only one refuse disposal service for the whole of Brazzaville, but hope is in sight because a new rubbish collection Association has come on the scene to serve the city's needs. It's already at work, but although things look promising, it's still insufficient to keep Brazzaville clean

Brazzaville, with its 900,000 population, is like many other big cities of Africa, (Lagos, Douala, Kinshasa...), having very serious hygiene problems, mainly because of the lack of proper refuse dumping areas. Even in the snob areas of the city or around "OCH buildings"(*), one can see huge piles of odorous rubbish, polluting the city!
To put an end to this problem, the Association For Sorting Out and Recycling Waste Material in Brazzaville (AVOBRA) came into being. This Association collects, sorts out and recycles waste material. About 25% of household waste is transformed into compost for market gardens around Brazzaville. The rest is deposited far away from the city!
The project was initiated by the Congo's Chamber of Commerce and is financed by the European Union to the tune of about 865 million CFA francs. It is managed by the Finance and Public Works Department, in cooperation with: The Ministry of Decentralisation; AgriCongo - a research centre for agricultural development in the tropical zones; the Brazzaville City Council; the Office of Control and Prevention!
The city's mayor launched the project on 31 October 1996, at the "Hugos" Football Ground in the Bacongo area, where the first site for storing waste household is situated. Among the guests of honour were the Minister of Tourism and Environment, the head of the European Union delegation, and the ambassadors of France and Germany. Also present were the mayors of the seven district of the city. One can't help noting that the problem of cleaning up the Congo's cities, seems to be dependent on help from the Congo's overseas partners!
Before tackling the whole city, AVOBRA decided to take as experimental areas, Talangai and Ouenzé, to the north of Brazzaville, and Bacongo, Makélékélé and Mfilou to the south. About 15 storage sites were set up throughout the city. Each site is about 400-600 sq.m. in area, with a covered section at each site, capable of sheltering 10 refuse containers. There's also a cement discharging platform enclosure at each site, equipped with a hydraulic shovel. Collecting rubbish obviously costs money, and the people are asked to contribute about 800 CFA francs per month; i.e. 200 FCA francs for a twice-weekly collection. Under AVOBRA's general supervision, local associations look after the running of the rubbish tips. But Brazzaville's population know that AVOBRA will not be able to provide a complete solution to the city's waste disposal problem.

NOTA - (*) The Congo's Housing Bureau built houses and apartments for senior officials in some areas of Brazzaville. These buildings are known as "OCH buildings".

END

CONTENTS | ANB-BIA HOMEPAGE

PeaceLink 1997 - Reproduction authorised, with usual acknowledgement