Energy recovery from municipal solid waste

Kisumu City is fast urbanizing. Implying that challenges posed by improper management of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) are increasing at both Kibuye market and Kachok dumpsite, within the City. This is a great hazard to inhabitants in terms of health and environment. This far, the City has been concentrating on addressing the issue of inadequate clean water supply, water hyacinth menace, sewerage management, to mention but a few. No special attention has been given to recover energy from MSW. This is very important as it will help to tackle the ever increasing volumes of MSW both at source of generation (Kibuye market) and disposal (Kachok dumpsite) and thus relieve the need for more land spaces for waste disposal, lessen potential methane emission sites and even provide cheap energy to the household(s), available market (s), and City at large. This paper discusses the potential of recovering energy using available techniques/technologies based on characteristics of MSW in Kisumu City as well as related economics. Various literature reviews, interview-based questionnaire, field survey observations provide evidence for these. The economics of embracing briquetting/palletization technology are briefly reviewed; success of briquetting solely relies on partnering amongst all key stakeholders. Also, this review offers any would-be investor(s) and/or researcher valuable information needed to invest in other waste management practices and/or glaring information gap that requires further interrogation in form of research.