Valorisation des déchets solides ménagers (DSM) en agriculture urbaine et péri-urbaine dans la ville de Léogane (Ouest Haïti)

Abstract

Till date, solid household waste (SHW) continues to pose serious environmental problems, especially in cities of developing countries. However, this kind of waste, instead of being a source of nuisance, could contribute to the resolution of many problems, such as loss of soil fertility. In this context, this research aims to contribute to the improvement of the fertility of market garden soils in the region of Léogâne (western Haiti) by using compost produced from SHW. To achieve this objective, the following methodological approach on five aspects was adopted:  Conducting a household survey to collect information on the way household waste is managed;  Collection of SHWs to characterize all waste produced by households and determine per capita waste production per day;  Carrying out a selective waste sorting test with the households in order to verify the feasibility of selective sorting;  Performing a composting test to measure the compost yield of the Léogâne SHW;  And realization of physico-chemical analyses to verify the quality of the obtained compost. The results of the survey showed a weak involvement of municipal authorities in the management of household waste collection. Only 15% of the SHW are collected by the trucks of the town hall. Almost all the waste is disposed of by households (self-evacuation), representing 70%, and the remaining 15% is evacuated by wheelbarrow pushers who are paid to collect transport them to a place where they will be disposed of. Regarding the daily production of SHW, it is estimated at 60 tons with a ratio of 0.50 kg per capita per day. This production is around the average for developing countries. Fermentable wastes make up the highest proportion (59%). A quantity of 201 kg of the fraction of fermentable waste was composted to give 138 kg of compost; a yield of 69%. Moreover, the results of the analyzes proved that the content of metal trace elements (MTE) of the compost from the SHW of Léogâne are below the recommendations of the current Canadian and French standards. These results show that the valorization of SHW by composting is an interesting alternative to overcome the bad practices of waste management in Léogâne. Nevertheless, training and sensitization of the population are essential for efficient sorting, thus facilitating composting.