Household Waste Recycling Knowledge and Markets, Challenges and Successes, in the Yassa, Douala, Cameroon

Abstract

This research paper presents the results of a survey consisting of recycling knowledge and markets in Yassa a residential neighborhood in Douala 3 municipality in Cameroon from January 2018 to March 2019. Primary data was collected from field surveys and random sampling to select residents. The household survey, participant observation and participatory appraisal, focus group discussions, interviews, and questionnaires were administered to collect information from participating households regarding, gender, age, and level of education and itinerant buyers. In the Yassa, Table 1 highlights the preference of the recycled household waste fraction while in Table2, I Kg of plastic waste was bought by Itinerant waste buyers from households at 100FCFA, and later sold to middlemen at 200FCFA and middlemen to small enterprises at 400FCFA. The difference in the buying and selling prices of ferrous metal and glass illustrates their importance in the market for recyclates. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the collected data. The results showed a predominance of females 70,4%, and 29.6% for their male counterparts with 60,2%for those with formal education and 39.8% with no educational background. The results from this study will enhance and increase the value for household waste as well as waste management recycling in Douala in particular and Cameroon in general