STUDY AND DESIGN OF A LOW ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL IMPACT LANDFILLING IN TOGO, ASSAHOUN VILLAGE

Waste disposal in landfilling, in association with a separate collection of organic and non-organic waste, seems to be the easiest and cheapest urban waste management method, compared to others, for a developing country, as Togo, poor in economic and technological resources. Obviously, a landfill construction requires an accurate environment and economic assessment in order to minimize the impact on the local population. It means to consider local population conditions and behaviors, municipal solid waste fluxes and their characteristics in terms of quality and quantity, climatic conditions, geotechnical and hydrological characteristics of the site and many other environmental and social factors in order to perform an optimal design. But first of all it must be considered the evaluation of economic and technological resources available and the level of information to the population about environmental impacts and health risks related to waste landfilling. The landfill in the village of Assahoun, Togo, conceived by Soutien Planète and developed by CODE3 has been designed in such a way to reduce the negative environmental impacts using appropriate technologies approach with simple solutions by the point of view of construction, management and cooperation between inhabitants and stakeholders. The project has been thought and designed to make waste management and disposal as compatible as possible with environmental and local population requirements, to ensure that it is not just a project, but to make actually possible to its construction. It would be also necessary a recycling perspective of some fractions as paper and cardboard, glass and plastic, organic waste but for the moment it is not possible for the local population to start up a separate collection and an appropriate managing of these materials: that needs a few more years of strong awareness by not only the environmental and humanitarian associations, but also, and especially, by government