Douala: City streets clogged by overflowing, putrid garbage

By Synthia Lateu

The waste begins in the roadway’s median in the Brazzaville neighborhood, Douala 3 subdivision. A ride through this area progressively reveals an alarming environmental challenge.
“We are overwhelmed by this situation. Each time, we are the ones trying to clean our immediate environment. We are even trying to get used to seeing it,” says a hardware store owner along the road.
Just a few meters ahead is a secondary school, where plastic debris and other waste are scattered outside, carried by the wind.
“These are wastes piled up by households daily… the smells are nauseating. The hygiene and sanitation company is supposed to clear them up at least every 48 hours,” the man at the school entrance explains.

Extending about one kilometer, the waste stretches along this section of the road, continuing all the way to the Dakar neighborhood, another part of this subdivision. Empty trashcans sit abandoned beside the overflowing refuse.

“Hysacam passed here with a truck this morning, and since the trash had overflowed the cans, they emptied only what was in the back and left,” a resident explains.

Further ahead in Bepanda, the waste clings to the walls of a secondary school in the area and spills over the edges of gutters, exposing a neglected environment.

“People come from far to throw their dirt here. They put it in trucks, and someone is paid to push it here,” an older resident, Marie, who attended the school, adds, noting that the situation has deteriorated recently.

In the Ndogsibi neighborhood, the persistent problem remains visible, leaving residents struggling to understand its recurrence.

“In every major neighborhood, we find refuse. And when the wind blows, the stench is unbearable,” a local resident laments.

Those who live along the roadside suffer even more from the impact of the waste. Accidents often occur on these roads, sometimes almost divided by waste.

“You can’t breathe; the environment is polluted. When I sit to eat, the flies enter the food,” a young mother of two comments, struggling to shoo away flies from her plate of rice.

The local population continually suggests solutions, including increasing the frequency of waste collection, adding more trashcans, and improving civility among residents, always hoping for betterment.

The waste overflow in Douala highlights significant health risks. Without permanent solutions, the situation will likely worsen, affecting countless individuals’ quality of life.