Waste Disposal Crisis Persists

I nhabitants of the Bonamoussadi neighbourhood, popularly known as Bonas, as well as Ngoa-Ekelle and Ecole de Poste, in the Yaounde III Subdivison, are calling for improved waste collection services after wit­ nessing residents of the Yaounde VI Subdivison benefit from a special door-to-door waste collection cam­ paign led by Mayor Jacques Yoki Onana. The council adopted a two phase strategy, where they sensitize households to keep their waste in plastic bags, and secondly, collecting the refuse directly from home. The initiative brought relief to many re­ sidents who had gone weeks wi­ thout seeing waste collection trucks. Inspired by this approach, residents in other parts of Yaounde say similar initiative should be implemented in their communities to improve waste disposal. In Bonas, residents say waste col­ lection trucks rarely reach residential areas because of poor road access. As a result, families are forced to carry bags of household waste on their heads over long distance to the nearest collection point or pay commercial motorbike riders to trans­ port the refuse. For many, what should be a basic public service has become a daily burden. "Our street is inaccessible to garbage trucks. Every week, we carry our waste ourselves or pay someone to take it to the nearest trash container. It is really stressful," says Beatrice, a resident. Students living in the neigh­ bourhood say balancing internships, studies, and other daily activities leave them with little time to dispose of their waste properly. Many pay children between FCFA 50 and 100 to carry the refuse away, although they cannot be sure if it reaches an approved disposal site. In neighbourhoods such as Ngoa- Ekelle and E...