Assessment of Municipal Solid Waste Management for Better-Quality Public Health and Environmental Sustainability in the Freetown Metropolitan City in Sierra Leone

Managing waste has been an aged-old challenge, especially in developing cities, like the Freetown Metropolitan City. Solid Waste and/or waste in general is an artefact of human activities that can spring from individuals, families, community, commercial/industrial operations etc. This study is a qualitative investigation, and it is intended to gather an inclusive knowledge of solid wastes management for better public health in Freetown, the Capital City of Sierra Leone. Statistical analysis was employed to observe numerical representations on a wide range of selected data. In an attempt to achieve the aim of this research project, reviews of available online resources were exploited, and juxtaposed with everyday knowledge in the existing state of the Freetown’s municipality solid waste management. The study revealed that residents in Freetown produce an average 0.45 kg of solid waste per individual per day. It was further established that biodegradable/organic matters comprise approximately 75% to 85% of total waste stream along with assorted retired furniture, scarp metals and plastic bags as most important recyclable elements. The hitches connected with municipal solid waste management in Freetown have become palpable, spanning from the past decade to date. Among many other factors, an upsurge influx urbanisation after the 11 years brutal civil war that ended in 2001, combine up with insufficient approved dumping sites for waste disposal and institutional incapability stand out. In this project, the contemporary approach of solid waste disposal in Freetown was carefully assessed with efforts to bring out the most feasible alternatives of solid waste disposal and acclaim ways of refining its activities. It was concluded from the study that, solid wastes in the Freetown Municipality must be tackled in a synergetic approach. That is, government corroborating with private solid waste managing actors so as to enhance an excellent better-public health, sustainable environmental, urban economic development and a resourceful energy paradigm.