Municipal Solid Waste Management in the Greater Banjul Area and Brikama LGA of The Gambia

One of the main environmental issues facing the Gambia with a population of 1,882,450 is Municipal solid waste management. This is exacerbated by indiscriminate disposal of waste from household and markets area, poor collection, and inappropriate disposal practices. The intensity of the Solid waste management problem increases with increased population due to the increased human activities and the solid wastes to be removed for disposal. The main causes of improper solid waste management in Greater Banjul Area and Brikama are due to lack of good and enough infrastructures, non-implementation of existing environmental sanitation laws, irregular and unplanned dumping of solid wastes, wrong lifestyle, population and urban growth due to rural-urban migration, insufficient capital to run solid waste management process and lack of new technology in waste disposal. Inadequate collection and improper disposal of solid wastes facilitates multiplication of pathogens causing diseases like cholera and diarrhea and provides good breeding site for disease vectors like mosquitoes (malaria), flies (diarrhea) and rodents. It is therefore necessary to look for and implement long –term integrated waste management strategies like segregation and recycling that ensures a sustainable approach for waste management services. Also proper and sustainable collection mechanisms should be available to have a lasting solution