Bin it - Design of an absorbent hygiene product waste collection model for informal settlements in South Africa

Until today, several low-income communities living in formal and informal settlements in South Africa don’t have access to municipal waste collection, leaving the residents behind with a huge amount of waste generated day by day. Parts of the solid household waste (SHW) accumulated are absorbent hygiene products (AHP). They are designed to absorb human fluids over various stages of life. Improperly disposed AHPs form a serious risk on health and environment. In this study, the amount of AHP waste generated and the geographical distribution of illegal dumpsites in two informal settlements (Johanna Road & Blackburn Village) was investigated. First, a Participatory Mapping was organized with residents from the communities to point out estimated dumpsites and to plan the next step. A Transect walk concluded the localization of illegal disposal sites. Next, a solid household waste characterization was conducted in both settlements. The study sampled 151 households in Johanna Road and 82 households in Blackburn Village. The SHW was quantified in 12 categories of which one was AHP waste. The results showed that the average generation of solid household waste in Johanna Road was 2.47 kg/household/day. The largest part were plastics (33.2%), followed by food waste / organics (29.1%) and AHP waste (21.2%). In Blackburn, the average SHW generation rate was 0.85 kg/household/day of which 43.6% was AHP waste. The bin capacity needed to collect all AHP waste was estimated to be 4060 litres/week in Johanna Road and 3820 litres/week in Blackburn, respectively.