Human Waste in Africa — From Open Defecation to Waste-to-Energy Solutions

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Human Waste in Africa — A Sanitation Crisis With Energy Potential

Africa’s sanitation story is often oversimplified. The truth is more complex. Open defecation is still common in many regions — not because people are careless, but because modern toilets, sewers, and waste collection are often unavailable or unaffordable. Millions wash with water and their hands alone because toilet paper and soap are costly. These realities are not stereotypes; they are infrastructure and public health challenges Africa is working to solve.

Did You Know? The World Health Organization estimates that over 200 million Africans still practice open defecation due to poor sanitation infrastructure and cost barriers.

Rapid urban growth makes waste management harder. Cities expand faster than pipes, toilets, and collection systems can be built. Human excreta, along with plastics and electronics, overwhelm city dumps and contaminate water sources.

Turning Waste Into Energy

Waste-to-energy (WTE) is gaining attention as one way to manage this crisis. WTE converts trash, sewage, and agricultural waste into electricity or heat. For African cities where waste piles up and power shortages are common, WTE offers a double benefit: cleaner streets and renewable energy.

Four Waste-to-Energy Projects Making a Difference

Kpone Independent Power Plant — Ghana

Uses municipal waste and natural gas to generate electricity, helping Ghana reduce landfills and dependence on imported power.

Goreangab Water Reclamation Plant — Namibia

Treats wastewater through anaerobic digestion to make biogas for electricity. Supplies up to 20% of Windhoek’s drinking water and keeps sewage out of landfills.

Cairo Waste-to-Energy Plant — Egypt

Combines incineration and gasification to turn household garbage into clean energy. Scheduled for full operation in 2024 and could be a model for North Africa.

Bronkhorstspruit Biogas Project — South Africa

First commercial-scale biogas plant in Africa. Turns manure and poultry litter into more than 100 million kWh of power and diverts 200,000 tons of waste from dumps.

Explore more about African innovations in renewable energy.

WTE Is Common in the U.S. Too

Waste-to-energy isn’t unique to Africa. In the United States, Newark’s Covanta Essex plant burns 2,800 tons of trash daily to power 45,000 homes. Florida’s Palm Beach Renewable Energy Facility 2 creates electricity for 44,000 homes while recovering metals for recycling. These long-running projects show WTE is proven technology — Africa is adapting it to local needs.

Open Defecation — Why It Persists

In many villages and city outskirts, people still relieve themselves in the open or in simple pits. This isn’t cultural preference; it’s necessity. Toilets are expensive to build and maintain. Sewer networks rarely reach informal settlements. Many households dig shallow pits or bury waste, but these can leak into groundwater. Others use water and their left hand to clean — a practical choice where toilet paper is unaffordable.

Some low-cost options exist, like sawdust toilets, but adoption is slow because families must build and maintain them themselves.

Did You Know? NASA astronauts drink water that was once urine — filtered and purified on the International Space Station. Similar technology could one day help African cities safely reuse human waste instead of polluting water sources.

Kiteezi landfill near Kampala, Uganda

The Urban Waste Challenge

Open dumps like Nairobi’s Dandora landfill take in thousands of tons of garbage daily. Informal waste pickers survive by recycling bottles, metals, and plastics, but dumps leak sewage and chemicals into soil and water. Burning trash releases toxic smoke and methane, worsening climate change.

Many cities collect only part of their waste. Trucks are few, roads are poor, and budgets are stretched. As incomes rise, plastics, electronics, and diapers replace organic waste — creating materials that can’t safely decompose.

Why Waste-to-Energy Alone Isn’t Enough

WTE can reduce trash and generate electricity, but plants must be well-managed. Poorly built incinerators can pollute the air. Projects that ignore informal waste workers can destroy jobs. Still, with strong policy and community involvement, WTE can help cities handle both sanitation and power shortages.

The Way Forward

African governments, NGOs, and entrepreneurs are expanding public toilets, safe latrines, and low-cost sanitation technologies. Communities are testing eco-toilets and biogas digesters that turn human waste into cooking fuel. International partners are financing modern landfills and WTE plants.

The challenge is real — open defecation and hand cleaning remain everyday survival strategies — but so is progress. By investing in sanitation and waste-to-energy, Africa can move from a health crisis toward cleaner cities and renewable power.