17 December 2023, Kigali, Rwanda – The Government of Rwanda through the Ministry of Environment of the Government of Rwanda initiated a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Ministry of the Environment, Climate and Sustainable Development of the Government of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg to strengthen cooperation and technology transfer between the two countries. Under this MoU, Grand Dutch of Luxembourg financed Waste to resource: Improving municipal solid waste and hazardous waste in Rwanda. This is a three-year project led by the Ministry of Environment and implemented by the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) Rwanda. The project is focused on improving municipal solid waste, electrical and electronic waste in both City of Kigali and Secondary Cities respectively.
Solid waste management is a critical component required to move towards a green economy. Innovative solutions are needed to utilize the circular economy approach towards waste management in Rwanda and to recuperate recyclable materials, harness energy and reduce landfill sites. The business model of waste management has proven effective in treating waste as a valuable resource. In several countries, waste is used to produce energy providing municipalities with valuable financial resources to more equitably distribute their services. Challenges identified include: 1) lack of waste segregation systems, 2) limited capacity of existing landfills, 3) urgent need of remediation of landfills currently in operation, 4) lack of incentives for private sector engagement, and 5) gaps in available data and information on current waste profile of key urban centers. Access to sustainable solid waste management as well as the concept of managing waste as a resource is central to GGGI’s green cities thematic area.
GGGI draw upon lessons learned and best practices from over 30 country offices worldwide that have integrated sustainable solid waste management at the policy level as well as through the development of bankable projects at the implementation phase. GGGI’s work on solid waste management is a critical component of efforts to reduce GHG emissions, improve access to sustainable services, improve air quality, and enhance adaptation to climate change.
The Waste to Resource Project aims to alleviate barriers that lead to the landfilling of high volume of organic waste, plastic and e-waste from ending up in the landfill. The barriers include high initial costs, low capacity of local actors, lack of knowledge of new technologies, lack of funding sources, and other barriers linked with lack of capacity, knowledge and issues in the current policy environment. Separation at the source and at landfill site requires multiple interventions and high initial costs. Technologies or approaches for the reuse or valorization of plastic and organic matter are limited in Rwanda. Furthermore, there is general lack of knowledge on these technologies and approaches at national and municipal context. The project aims to address these gaps in capacity building and knowledge sharing.
One of the project outcomes is to Design and Build of Sorting and Separation Facility at Nduba Dumpsite. From October 9th to 13th, 2023, a team of experts from GGGI Rwanda, City of Kigali, WASAC Rwanda and Green Vista travelled to Zhongan Eco Company in the Zhengzhou district of Henan Province in People’s Republic of China. The team of experts successfully completed the Factory Acceptance Test (FAT) for all Electrical and Mechanical (E&M) equipment procured for the ” Design and build of a Sorting and Separation Facility at Nduba Dumpsite. The FAT served as the ultimate quality control and assurance step, ensuring that every piece of electromechanical equipment met the project’s specifications and abided by Rwandan standards. Some of the E&M equipment examined include conveyor belts, sorting platforms, control panels and many others. to confirm compliance with contract specifications. The team carried out a hot test, where the equipment was examined in operation, and the main outcome was to approve the presence, conformity, availability and quality of the E&M equipment before it could be shipped. The equipment is expected to arrive in Rwanda in January 2024.
On 24th November 2023 GGGI Rwanda conducted a technical handover of the weighbridge at Nduba dumpsite. The assessment was conducted in the presence of the City of Kigali, WASAC, Depot Kalisimbi, GGGI and COPED. The site team commended the contractor for the good work done to address all the identified defects during testing. On 1st December 2023 the housing scale was handed to depot Kalisimbi to assume the operation on behalf of the City of Kigali. For quality check and smooth operation of the weighbridge, COPED agreed to accompany the operator for 30 days of training.