Access to Carbon Credits in the Waste Sector: What Opportunity for Municipalities in Cameroon?

Abstract

Household solid waste management is a major concern for cities in developing countries. In Cameroon, an increase in the quantity of waste produced is associated with increased urban population. Within the context of decentralization, municipalities have been given the competence to manage waste, but challenges abound. This work seeks to demonstrate that municipal solid waste management via composting provides financial gains from the carbon credit. A mixed methods approach was used to collect secondary and primary data, and a participatory observation was used to evaluate the quantity of methane sequestrated during composting. Results show that with an estimated population of about 132916 inhabitants in 2023, Dschang produces 27514.9 tons of waste annually. However, only 32% of this waste is collected and 55.21% of the waste collected is valorized through composting. Between 2017 and 2023, the project activities produced 2472 tons of CO2 equivalence and prevented the emission of 17,989 tons of CO2, as the baseline scenario for the same period had predicted emissions of 20461 tons of methane. With this, Dschang municipality benefited from carbon credits amounting to 150,000 euros between 2019 and 2023. However, numerous material, organizational and regulatory constraints hinder the smooth running of the activity and threaten its sustainability. Resolving these difficulties is essential and requires the reorganization of the waste management system, more flexible and less rigorous policies in the carbon market.