Adoption of decentralised waste management systems in Swaziland

September 07, 2018

The last waste inventory was done in Swaziland in 1997, the generation was close to 86,000 tonnes/year. At present, there is no estimation of how much waste is generated in the country. But it is clear that it is increasing. As per available estimates, per capita waste generation is 0.2 kg/day in Swaziland. The waste composition majorly comprises of 50-55 per cent organic and remaining 45-50 percent comprises of recyclable waste (such as paper, plastic, metal, glass) and inerts. The town councils and town boards (referred as municipality in this document) are responsible for management of waste in urban areas that focuses entirely on collection (efficiency is over 65%) and disposal.

For disposal, there are 3 landfill sites owned by municipality in the towns of Mbabane, Matsapha and Piggs Peak. There is also one industry owned landfill in the country. However, these are not engineered landfill sites. The country also has a huge issue of informal settlements in peri-urban areas where there is no system of waste management.