Modernizing Household Waste Management in Benin

Household waste management is a major concern in many African cities. The city of Cotonou, the country's main economic hub, is no exception. The inadequate management of household waste by COGEDA (Coordination des ONG de Gestion des Déchets solides ménagers et l'Assainissement à Cotonou) and the DST (Direction des Services Techniques) of Cotonou town hall led to the creation of the SGDS (Société de Gestion des Déchets et de la Salubrité) as part of the modernization of waste management in Benin. The aim of this book is to describe the household waste management system in Cotonou from the era of COGEDA/DST to SGDS SA. Documentary research, direct observations and interviews with a number of institutional players have yielded a number of results. Basically, we note the complete mechanization of household solid waste pre-collection under the reign of SGDS SA. This modernization trend is accompanied by several strategies implemented by the new waste management company in Grand Nokoué, ranging from reorganized pre-collection to processing.