Plastic Waste and its Challenges in Bamenda Urban Space, North West Region, Cameroon

This study sought to access the quantity and types of plastic waste generated in Bamenda urban and its challenges; it further sought to compare the different types of plastics present in the waste stream in Bamenda. This research was prompted by the fact that plastic waste in Bamenda is still a call for concern despite the prohibition of plastic packages inferior to 61 microns in thickness by the government of Cameroon in a bit to minimize the quantity of plastic waste generated. The sampling technique used is the ASTM D5231-92 “Standard Test Method for Determination of the Composition of Unprocessed Municipal Solid Waste”. Samples of 100 kg were collected every day for 4 weeks through random sampling from the waste dumped and quantify through manual sorting and measurement. The waste was characterized as follows: Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET), High Density Polyethylene (HDPE), Low Density Polyethylene (LDPE), Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC), Polypropylene (PP), Polystyrene (PS) and others (unclassified plastic materials). A total of 210 samples of 100kg each were analysed. Result shows that 18.575tons of plastics are generated in Bamenda per day. The mean plastic waste quantify during this period was 6.95kg in a 100kg solid waste stream. It was realized that LDPE had the highest percentage composition of 39.51 % while PS had the least with 5. 17%. PP, PET, HDPE, PVC and OTHERS registered 16.67%, 16.24%, 7.76%, 5.60% and 9.05% respectively. The government should increase effort in the fight against plastic waste generation on one hand and encourage plastic waste recyclers on the other.