Problem of Solid Waste Incineration in Developing Countries

In fact, if not for the sake of hospital waste, one could have categorically concluded that waste incineration should be phase-out from the developing countries- especially, Nigeria. The reasons are quite obvious; incineration requires high skill and technicality. The types of incinerators that are very common in Nigeria are by far different from those ones that are found and being used in the civilized countries.

Taking Ibadan city for example, no incinerator has provision for flue gas treatment and, to large extent, energy recovery. Perhaps, you can only find electrically powered incinerator at the University Teaching Hospital, Ibadan. Apart from this, the incinerators were not normally built with high chimneys to take care of gaseous emissions.

Although, no other methods of effective pathogen reduction have ever prescribed for health care facilities worldwide other than incineration, non-incineration technologies are being encouraged in recent years by many environmental pressure groups. The reasons include toxic and obnoxious ash residue as well air emissions that are carcinogenic.

Further more, the nature of waste generated which contains more of organic cannot be properly handled by indigenous incinerators with perceived low in-built temperature. Incineration is a high temperature dry oxidation process that reduces organic and combustible waste to inorganic, incombustible matter. Then, incinerator can be used for sludge and mix kitchen wastes with very small low heat value. However, none of locally made incinerators can effectively do this because of lower temperature (usually lower than 10000C). Worse still, most of them are built without provision for fuel and usually clogged with unburnt or partially burnt matters.

In conclusion, due to the sophistication, high technology and skill, and high capital involved in normal incineration, and also due to the threat posed to the environment and health by the current method in some developing countries, Nigeria inclusive, it could be suggested that locally made incinerators phase out in these countries for now.