Monrovia, Liberia – Living around 15 meters from the Police Academy community, 40-year Evelyn Sackie is a mother of six. Living in the heart of the Police Academy, a neighborhood in Paynesville, Everlyn is a small business lady selling cold water, frozen fish, (Pepper Kala-meaning Street food).
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She has been in this business since 2021, it seems Evelun is not aware of the risk of plastic pollution to the environment given the massive pile of wasted cold-water plastic and growing stink of the dumpsite surrounding her business center.
These people lack appropriate environmental consciousness; everyone dumps trash wherever he or she chooses without thinking about the negative consequences of their activities. “I moved to this community 3 years ago, and this place has been like this, we are not happy living in this kind of condition,” she remarked.
Growing plastic pollution and poor waste management are seriously compromising public health in greater Monrovia and its surrounds.
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In addition to harming the environment, the extensive use of plastic all throughout the nation combined with a poor waste disposal system is reducing agricultural output, particularly for those who garden in urban and slum areas.
Attracting more and more attention as a major pollution source, plastic contamination is now a worldwide phenomenon.
Jerry Kerkulah, 30, relocated close to the Whein town dumpsite in 2018; he lives a few meters away. Sharing his experience with the badly maintained dumpsite, Kerkulah seems content even if the air in the region smells bad.
Kerkulah: “We are used to this; adding that mosquitoes, flies, and other insects have flooded the area due of the massive amount of dirt the entire village is polluted. Malaria drives my wife to bring the kids to the neighborhood clinic practically every month.
Police Academy and Whein Town lack fundamental requirements such clean drinking water, stable energy, excellent roads, education, and healthcare in these busy areas. While the Whein town community, house almost (10,000) people most of whom live in abject poverty, Police Academy has a total population of roughly (8000) and the existence of a poorly managed dumpsite in these regions poses serious health dangers.
Emphasizing the need of moving the dumpsite, he said, this is the only approach to shield the neighborhood from its present situation.
Environmental experts warn that while Liberia struggles with these issues the combination of bad waste management and the widespread use of single-use plastic bags and bottles is filling up land space, poisoning water supplies, and harming public health. For Montserrado County and its environs’ urban farmers especially, the results are quite negative.
Plastic and other items overrun drainages during the rainy season, flooding the entire village as a result.
Comprising a population of 5.4 million, Liberia is regarded as one of the low-income nations in the subregion. The World Bank projects Monrovia, Liberia’s average home garbage per capita generation to be 0.76kg/capita/day. The World Bank survey also revealed that organic garbage (40.2%) followed by plastic (14.2%) constituted the majority of waste produced in Monrovia, Liberia. In Liberia, daily trash generation averages 0 to 15 kilograms.
Not only unique to Montserrado but also other counties around Liberia are the urgent problems of plastic pollution and poor waste management system in the urban and slum areas of Montserrado County. The effect of these environmental risks still influences the daily life of the people living with them.
Effect of plastic waste and current trends in it for many Liberians, poor waste management and plastic pollution now cause serious issues. Communities in Paynesville include Police Academy and Whein Town still suffer from the negative consequences of these problems.
Cities Alliance 2019 studies on solid waste management in Monrovia indicate that there are lots of trash on the street and that deforestation is resulting from Liberia exporting charcoal.
Of the waste produced in Monrovia, a good fraction is organic garbage followed by plastic. The growing use of plastic goods on the Liberian market in Monrovia is the cause of the growing plastic garbage.
This World Bank 2023 report on plastic pollution also estimates the cost of the damage caused by marine plastic pollution in West Africa; this range is ($10,000 to $33,000) per ton of plastic garbage. Particularly negatively impacted by the plastic pollution are waterfront property values, biodiversity and ecosystems, fisheries and aquaculture, marine-related tourism, and industry.
Officer-in-Charge Marie F. P. Byepu of a private clinic called Belgium in the community voiced her dissatisfaction over the circumstances. She said that over half of the cases her clinic reports weekly are malaria-related, which she links to the neighboring trash site the Monrovia City Corporation (MCC) and Paynesville City Corporation (PCC) have neglected for years. According to Ms. Byepu, mosquitoes and other disease-carrying insects find refuge in the large, badly maintained dumpsite.
Ms. Byepu related a recent occurrence at her clinic whereby a pregnant woman suffering from extreme malaria delivered prematurely. “This is very bad for us; the pertinent authorities have to act now to save the community,” she said. Apart from malaria, the facility records several typhoid cases connected to the abandoned waste dump site.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1zlPbmtS4yN70FLHGIK8LoSlP1tqSD3m_/view?usp=drive_link
Established in 2012 by the Liberian government with World Bank financing as a temporary solid waste site, the Whein Town dumpsite near Paynesville has long surpassed its capacity. Based on the World Bank study published in June 2019, Monrovia generates an estimated 800 tons of daily home solid trash; 45 percent of it is covered by the official solid waste collecting system.
The location has been ignored by the accountable government authorities, which has caused bad smells to contaminate the community and seriously endanger public health for the citizens. Years later, nevertheless, it is still in use and its mismanagement still afflicutes problems to the society. Daily invasion of the town by mosquitoes and other insects from the dumpsite results from MCC’s careless disposal of solid waste; flies, mosquitoes, and other pests pose a continual hazard especially to children and pregnant women during the rainy season.
EPA, or the Environmental Protection Agency through the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Liberia approved a landmark resolution aiming at creating a legally enforceable pact to fight plastic waste globally one year ago.
Dr. Emmanuel K. Urey Yarkpawolo, Executive Director of the EPA
Environmental specialists still hold, however, that these actions are all meant to help to preserve a healthy environment; however, the whole implementation is still a problem for pertinent authorities.
Dr. Emmanuel K. Urey Yarkpawolo, Executive Director of the EPA, offers his professional view on plastic pollution in the situation of Liberia.
“In terms of their effects on the surroundings, plastics are not good. Part of the Pacific Ocean has been overrun by plastic.” The Great Pacific Path is the name given to the whole area.
He claimed that plastic pollution influences the worldwide ocean system, marine life, and oceanic system. “You see the effects of plastic in terms of garbage disposal and how it’s blocking the drainages, so causing flooding across Montserrado and its environs.”
Plastic is tough to handle, and it’s difficult when you burn it; these problems including flooding, abuse of land space he believes still endure taking over Montserrado County; dump it anyplace.
Dr. Yarkpawolo underlined the value of economic potential, creativity, and pointed out other people’s inventions transforming plastic into other materials, therefore lowering current consumption. This is among the better approaches; “lets try to reduce plastic use and production.” We are looking for Liberians to provide a creative approach on plastics. Liberians I knew earlier were melting plastic to create bricks for house construction.
There are several types of prospects where plastic waste products can be recycled in several forms and used for business. Reduction of plastic pollution depends on innovation. This he revealed that as a measure of plastic reduction in Liberia, they EPA and other stakeholders would support their ideas.
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For seven years, Monrovia City Corporation (MCC) started the process of obtaining the Cheesmanburg landfill site along the Bomi road. Authorities at the MCC will provide some respite to the residents, particularly in Whein Town Community, Police Academy, and other slums communities severely affected by inadequate solid waste management systems.
Designed to meet Monrovia’s garbage needs as well as those of surrounding areas, the new site under construction covers 100 acres. Under the direction of the Liberian Government with World Bank financing, the $23 million project has been under development over the past seven years. Once the site is finished and operational, Monrovia’s sustainable waste disposal center will be centralized from here.
The same World Bank Report-2023 prediction for Waste Generation in Greater Monrovia places 1,174. With investments of roughly (US$137,125) and $208,225, respectively, the Stockton Creek and Fiamah transfer stations reflect the city’s will to strengthen its waste management system.
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John Charuk Siafa, the mayor of Monrovia City, said: “This facility will mostly handle the trash produced by Monrovia and Montserrado County, therefore greatly reducing the difficulties we have had in the past. It stands as a necessary commitment to the future of our city.
John Charuk Siafa, Mayor, Monrovia City Corporation
Concurrent with this, Cheesmanburg, Bomi County inhabitants affected by the landfill have been moved to newly built houses; this is a joint initiative of the MCC, World Bank, UKaid, Sida, and Irish Aid. Valued at $1.8 million, the Cheesmanburg Landfill Urban Sanitation Project is under progress building a 1.9km community access road and a chain-link fence. Declaring the importance of the Cheesmanburg waste site, Siafa said.
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The relocation scheme also took into account building a mini-mosque to meet the community’s spiritual needs. Many of the locals expressed thanks, conveying their delight and relief at better living circumstances.
Emphasizing the significance of these advancements for the future of the city, the Mayor said, “Our objective is to retain strong environmental standards that give public health and sustainability top priority. This landfill site is just one part of our broader strategy to make Monrovia a cleaner and healthier city.”
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Monrovia still suffers major waste issues in some areas, but the change from a city once in Liberia seems so difficult to reach this goal as actions by the pertinent government remain a challenge due of lack of budgetary support or political will.
Reported by Simeon S. Wiakanty
Contact: +231 88 153 8878
