How to sort household waste at home in Cameroon: A simple guide

Sorting your rubbish sounds like extra work, but once it becomes a habit it takes seconds a day. It keeps your kitchen cleaner, stops bags from tearing and leaking, and makes it far easier for useful materials to be recovered instead of thrown away.

Here is a simple system that works in most homes in Limbe.

The three-bin system

You do not need special bins. Three containers are enough: old buckets, boxes or sacks will do.

1. Food and garden waste

Peelings, leftovers, spoilt food, eggshells, coffee grounds, leaves and grass cuttings. This is the waste that smells and attracts flies, so:

• use a container with a lid,
• line it with a bag or old newspaper,
• empty it often, especially in hot weather.

If you have a garden, much of this can become compost instead of rubbish (see the tip below).

2. Recyclables

Plastic bottles, cans, glass bottles and jars, clean paper and cardboard. Before you put them in:

• empty and rinse bottles and tins, because a little food left inside makes the whole bag smell,
• flatten cardboard boxes and plastic bottles to save space,
• keep this bin dry, since wet paper and cardboard are much harder to reuse.

3. General waste

Everything else: nappies, sanitary products, broken plastic, packets with food stuck to them, sweepings and dust. Tie these bags tightly.

Things that need special care

Some waste should never go loose into an ordinary bag:

• Broken glass and sharp objects. Wrap them in thick paper or cardboard and tape it, so nobody gets cut lifting the bag.
• Batteries. Keep them separate in a small box. They should not be burnt or thrown in drains.
• Old medicines. Do not pour them down the sink or toilet. Keep them in their packaging and ask a pharmacy what to do with them.
• Paint, oil and chemicals. Keep them in their closed containers and tell us before collection if you have a large amount.
• Hot ashes. Let them cool completely before bagging them.

Make it easy for the whole family

Sorting only works if everyone does it:

• put the three containers side by side in the kitchen or yard, so the right one is always within reach,
• label them, or use different colours,
• show children what goes where: they are often the quickest to learn.

A tip for gardeners: compost

If you have space outside, food scraps and leaves can be turned into rich compost for your plants. Pile them in a corner or a pit, mix in dry leaves, keep the heap slightly damp and turn it every week or two. Avoid meat, fish and cooked food with oil, which attract animals. In a few months you will have free fertiliser, and much less to put out for collection.

On collection day

Tie every bag firmly, keep sharp items wrapped, and place your bags at the spot our crew knows. Not sure how to keep bags safe from rain and animals between collections? Read how to store rubbish in the rainy season.

Not with DORTIGO yet? We collect household waste across Limbe every week, from 5,000 FCFA a month. Subscribe in two minutes.