6 research outputs found

    Hunting for tonnage: waste workers' incentives in a public-private partnership in Bafoussam, Cameroon

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    Public-private partnerships are often depicted as an effective institutional arrangement to improve urban services towards sustainable development. In sub-Saharan Africa, the involvement of private parties in municipal solid waste management is believed to bring in technical, managerial and financial capabilities, which municipalities generally lack. However, several studies revealed that access to privatised waste collection services is often unequal and disfavouring unplanned settlements. This research contributes to an understanding of the production of such socio-spatial inequalities and injustices through public-private partnerships by specifically looking at the everyday collection practices of formal waste workers employed by Hysacam, the private company in charge of waste management services in the medium-sized city of Bafoussam and elsewhere in Cameroon. Drawing primarily upon qualitative data, including participant observation, the paper shows how the weight-based collection target, prescribed in the tripartite partnership contract between the central government, the municipality and Hysacam that theoretically should cover the whole urban area, produced perverse incentives at various scales for uneven garbage collection in Bafoussam. More generally, this case study points to the importance of considering workers and their everyday practices, as well as incentives and accountabilities, for the design of sustainable and socially just solid waste management

    Gestion des dĂ©chets solides municipaux Ă  l’épreuve du partenariat public-privĂ© Ă  Bafoussam, Cameroun: Une analyse des inĂ©galitĂ©s environnementales dans une ville moyenne d’Afrique subsaharienne

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    Des inĂ©galitĂ©s sociales face Ă  la gestion de l’environnement urbain sont de plus en plus marquĂ©es dans le monde en dĂ©veloppement dont l’Afrique subsaharienne. ConfrontĂ©es Ă  la production croissante des dĂ©chets solides et Ă  la pollution engendrĂ©e, la plupart des villes africaines connaissent depuis quelques dĂ©cennies des changements dans les systĂšmes de gouvernance, engageant notamment le secteur privĂ© dans le service de propretĂ© urbaine. Cette thĂšse cherche Ă  comprendre comment les inĂ©galitĂ©s environnementales se construisent en milieu urbain autour de la collecte, du transport, et de la mise en dĂ©charge des dĂ©chets solides municipaux dans le cadre d’un partenariat public-privĂ©. La prĂ©sente recherche combine diffĂ©rentes approches thĂ©oriques et mĂ©thodologiques associĂ©es aux questions d’inĂ©galitĂ©s et de justice environnementales en ville, en s’inspirant du champ de rĂ©flexion plus large de la urban political ecology. Elle permet ainsi d’examiner les facteurs de production des inĂ©galitĂ©s environnementales Ă  travers des liens de pouvoir et de politique entre institutions et acteurs de dĂ©chets. Plus prĂ©cisĂ©ment, elle analyse les causes du rendu partiel du service de propretĂ© urbaine dans les quartiers planifiĂ©s et non planifiĂ©s de Bafoussam, ville moyenne et capitale rĂ©gionale de l’ouest Cameroun. Des mĂ©thodes quantitatives et surtout qualitatives, y compris l’observation participante, mobilisĂ©es dans l’étude permettent d’interroger la sociĂ©tĂ© urbaine, mais aussi les pouvoirs publics et privĂ©s, ainsi que les pratiques quotidiennes d’une complexitĂ© d’acteurs et de secteurs formels et informels dans leurs itinĂ©raires et espaces urbains respectifs autour d’une ressource Ă  la fois disputĂ©e et rejetĂ©e. La thĂšse s’appuie sur plusieurs enquĂȘtes de terrain effectuĂ©es sur environ huit mois entre 2014 et 2016 auprĂšs de diffĂ©rents acteurs de la gestion des dĂ©chets, notamment la sociĂ©tĂ© privĂ©e HYSACAM (HygiĂšne et SalubritĂ© du Cameroun) dans la ville de Bafoussam. Les rĂ©sultats indiquent que le circuit des dĂ©chets (du point de production Ă  la mise en dĂ©charge, y compris les espaces de collecte et de transport) traduit diverses formes d’inĂ©galitĂ©s liĂ©es Ă  l’accĂšs au service de propretĂ© urbaine, aux pratiques de collecte, mais aussi Ă  l’exposition de certains groupes d’habitants Ă  la pollution de la dĂ©charge municipale. Les processus d’urbanisation et de la fragmentation urbaine entrainent des inĂ©galitĂ©s variĂ©es selon le cadre socioĂ©conomique, institutionnel et politique qui entoure les nombreux acteurs de la chaĂźne de gestion de dĂ©chets. Ces inĂ©galitĂ©s sont pacifiquement combattues par les urbains dont les habitants du quartier de la dĂ©charge municipale. La thĂšse soutient que l’analyse de la gestion des dĂ©chets solides municipaux sous l’intervention d’un partenariat public-privĂ© dans les espaces de la ville intermĂ©diaire d’Afrique subsaharienne ne rend pas exclusivement compte d’une formule salvatrice de l’amĂ©lioration de la qualitĂ© de l’environnement urbain, mais permet de retracer les moments de production des inĂ©galitĂ©s environnementales en milieu urbain. Abstract: Social inequalities in the management of the urban environment have become more pronounced in the developing world, including sub-Saharan Africa. Confronted with an increasing production of solid waste and pollution, most African cities have been experiencing changes in governance systems over the last few decades, increasingly engaging the private sector for urban cleanliness services. This thesis thus seeks to understand how urban environmental inequalities are produced around the collection, transport, and disposal of solid waste under a public-private partnership. To address the key question, this research draws upon a number of theoretical and methodological approaches related to issues of urban inequality and environmental justice, inspired by the broader field of urban political ecology. It examines factors relating to environmental inequalities through the relations of power and politics between institutions and waste stakeholders. More specifically, this thesis analyses the causes of the uneven urban cleanliness service in the planned and unplanned areas of Bafoussam, a medium-sized city and the regional capital of western Cameroon. Quantitative and especially qualitative methods, including participant observation, were used to study urban society, public and private authorities and assess daily practices of a complexity of actors within formal and informal sectors in their respective itineraries and urban spaces around both disputed and rejected resource. The empirical papers are based on eight months of fieldwork carried out in Bafoussam city between 2014 and 2016 with various stakeholders in the waste management chain, especially the private company HYSACAM (Hygiene and Sanitation of Cameroon). Our results indicate that the waste circuits, from the point of production to the depositing at the landfill, reflect various forms of inequalities related to the access to urban cleanliness service, collection practices and the pollution exposures near the municipal landfill. These inequalities occur within the process of urbanization and urban fragmentation along socio-economic, institutional and political lines. The environmental inequalities in Bafoussam involve numerous actors of the waste (management change) and are peacefully fought by poor urban citizens settled near the municipal dumpsite. The thesis argues that the public-private partnership in Bafoussam is no panacea for municipal solid waste management and for the improvement of urban environment quality. However, the analysis reveals the process and the moments of the production of environmental inequalities associated with municipal solid waste service in urban areas

    On the (In)visibility of Practices: Opportunities for the Promotion of Household Waste-Segregation in Western Switzerland

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    Organic waste is both a refuse and a resource. Focusing on household waste in a city in Western Switzerland, this study examines the practices of waste segregation in relation to the city’s (organic) waste management system. Based on qualitative research with diverse households and experts in waste management, we use social practice theory to discuss the meanings and materiality of household organic waste segregation. We show how more or less visible meanings, tied up with material arrangements, can be either enablers or deterrents for such forms of waste management. The article argues that certain aspects of the waste system could be rendered more visible, such as the proper labelling of collection bins, while less visibility could be given to certain meanings around waste segregation, such as the financial cost of not sorting. We also discuss how organic waste sorting, as a practice, contests the dominant understandings of change based on technological efficiency, economic benefits, and individual changes. More collective forms of change are needed, working at the level of social contexts and materiality, to further support organic waste sorting

    L’accĂšs Ă  la collecte des ordures mĂ©nagĂšres dans la ville de Bafoussam : une analyse des facteurs de production d'inĂ©galitĂ©s

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    A Bafoussam, la collecte des dĂ©chets mĂ©nagers engage le partenariat public-privĂ© depuis presque deux dĂ©cennies. Ce systĂšme de gestion des dĂ©chets municipaux est rĂ©guliĂšrement prĂ©sentĂ© comme une solution adaptĂ©e pour l’amĂ©lioration de l’hygiĂšne et de la salubritĂ© des villes de pays en dĂ©veloppement. Cependant, les diffĂ©rences d’accĂšs des mĂ©nages au service de collecte des dĂ©chets semblent se renforcer au lieu de se rĂ©duire. La structure urbaine avec la distribution du rĂ©seau viaire, et l’organisation socio-spatiale sont souvent avancĂ©es pour expliquer ces inĂ©galitĂ©s. Sans contester leur importance, cette Ă©tude montre Ă  travers une combinaison de mĂ©thodes quantitatives et qualitatives, que les facteurs sociaux et politiques sont dĂ©terminants dans la production des inĂ©galitĂ©s environnementales. L’étude mobilise l’approche thĂ©orique Ă©mergente de la urban political ecology avec un accent sur des liens de pouvoir avec des zones de collecte de dĂ©chets Ă  Bafoussam. Ainsi, au-delĂ  de la fragmentation urbaine, cet article analyse les stratĂ©gies de collecte et le comportement des mĂ©nages dans les quartiers centraux et pĂ©riphĂ©riques. L’article met en Ă©vidence les facteurs qui influencent l’accĂšs des urbains Ă  la collecte des ordures dans une ville Ă  fortes croissances dĂ©mographique et spatiale, pionniĂšre du partenariat public-privĂ© au Cameroun et Ă  l’échelle des villes de taille moyenne en Afrique subsaharienne

    Small/secondary cities,multi-scale governance, and opportunities for integrated municipal waste management in Cameroon

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    Rolande Makamte Kakeu-Tardy explores smaller cities from the perspective of waste management in five small cities in Cameroon and scrutinises the complexity of infrastructure and environmental governance in these cities. She calls for more research exploring the range of actors involved in infrastructural governance in these cities and the relations between different actors

    Of Practices and (Micro)politics: Challenges of Organic Waste Segregation in Dschang, Cameroon

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    Waste generation in Sub-Saharan Africa is increasing rapidly. While biodegradable waste remains predominant, it is rarely treated separately by municipal solid waste management systems, thus foregoing the possibility to reduce the volume going to landfills or dumpsites. This paper discusses the unique case of the small city of Dschang, Cameroon, where the municipality operates two central composting plants that treat about 20% of the city’s household and restaurant waste. Using Urban Political Ecology and Social Practice Theory, this article studies waste flows, waste practices, material arrangements, power relations, social norms, institutional dynamics, and policies to identify opportunities and obstacles for organic waste sorting at the level of households and restaurants. Our analysis draws upon qualitative and quantitative data and points to the importance of the availability of multiple waste bins and monetary compensation for organic waste sorting. These factors have also facilitated the development of an informal waste sector, which might use up to 20% of the city’s waste as animal feed and for home/farm composting. However, complex relations between multiple actors and the national policy framework complicate the emergence of organic waste segregation at source as a common practice. In this way, the study shows that solid waste management is also a matter of power and (micro)politics.</p
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