Waste Management

Sao Tomé e Principé has not ratified the Basel Convention. Although lacking a waste-specific master plan, the need for one is recognized: the development of a National Master Plan for the Management of Urban Solid Waste is to take place within the National Environment Plan for Sustainable Development (PNADD), although this document is ten years old.

The sector is characterized by the absence of adequate infrastructure for the collection, transport and depositing of waste, poor training of staff who work directly in the waste sector, and  low awareness in the general population as to the importance of waste management and sanitation. The District Boards and the Regional Government, which are responsible for the management of waste, do not have adequate facilities for this purpose and are mainly dedicated to (poorly) cleaning and collecting that waste which is collected from the population. In addition to the institutional and organizational problems that hinder the proper management of municipal solid waste in the country, rural exodus to urban areas has also contributed much to the degradation of sanitation and the environment. In six districts of the Sao Tomé et Principe Region, there is a characterized lack of control in the dumping of waste that occurs in various areas fully accessible to the public. The absence of the minimum screening of materials causes biodegradable and non-biodegradable materials to be deposited together along with hazardous medical waste, encouraging the proliferation of mosquitoes and other vectors of disease, which creates a significant public health problem. One major achievement by the government and civil society organizations in addressing some of these issues has been to encourage a heightened public awareness of the harmful effects on human health and the environment posed by urban solid waste. Initiatives in the country have focused on resolving the waste problem and on highlighting the education and training of members of NGOs and officials of the District Boards responsible for waste removal. Training in the areas of recycling and recovery of waste has been conducted in several communities, and there already exists programmes to process waste into manure to enrich the soil.