/solid waste management in syrian ITSs of north beqa/lebanon 2014
Consultancy to implement emergency waste management in North Beqa area within the framework of the project: “Emergency Response for Syrian and Lebanese families affected by the Syrian conflict” funded by ECHO and implemented by GVC NGO.
The first activity implemented has been a quantitative and waste composition analysis. Waste production in terms of weight and composition. can give the opportunity make calculations and plans on how the humanitarian crisis can impact the environment and the waste economy of the area where refugees are living. Quantity of waste produced are important also to evaluate waste production of IS households. In order to identify opportunities for waste recycling; to analyse the influence of relevant factors for IS solid waste generation rates, next to develop the mathematical models of correlations between the waste generation rates of main physical categories and relevant factors; to examine the habit of households on recyclable waste discharge and the household attitudes toward good waste management and the household behaviour toward recycling activities.
The composition of generated waste is extremely variable as a consequence of seasonal, lifestyle, demographic, geographic, and legislation impacts. This variability makes defining and measuring the composition of waste more difficult and at the same time more essential.
In the framework of the project the analysis has been done in 2 IS selected among the clusters targeted by the GVC ECHO project. Waste Characterization analysis has been done using ASTM D 5231-92(2008).
Pilot waste biomass cooking stove
Improved cookstove
Improved biomass cookstoves has been a topic of research for more than 40 years, but sSll 2.6 billion people cook over an open biomass fire.“Biomass cookstove” is a physical structure that contains air- fuel combusSon for heat release, and subsequently, directs the heat of combusSon towards a cooking target (pot/pan/griddle). Besides cooking, stoves provide useful energy for space/water heaSng, in-house lighSng, fish/meat smoking, and grain/flour roasSng. The same device in many cultures, serves more than one of these funcSons. Modern cookstoves guarantee more than a plain fire; features such as high efficiency, low emissions, and safety of the user. According to the wide range of food habits, socio-cultural factors, and fuel type available; there exist, no of cookstove designs across the world whether tradiSonal or improved.
IS cooking and organic waste
In ITSs for Syrian refugees in Lebanon has been found that most of the families are cooking using small branches on a tradiSonal stove which represent a inefficient use of biomass. That is expensive in terms of financial costs and energy wise. Moreover it can cause a premature death and has a significant global impact in greenhouse gas and black carbon emissions. On the other side in the absence of formal or proper waste management strategy and support, refugees are likely to resort to burning their waste in an uncontrolled manner. This will oRen be found to be undertaken on the edge of camps or just outside. Burning of waste in such a manner does not effecSvely break down all the waste, oRen leaving organic materials, which are high in water content, semi-burnt and conSnuing to decompose2.
Improved pilot cookstove and waste management
As a soluSon to these problems, energy and emission efficient Improved cookstove can reduce: diseases, by decreasing air polluSon; Sme and cost with around 50% of biomass saving3. The idea is to combine an improve cookstove system with an organic waste dryer exploiSng the heat produces in the stove itself during the cooking process. The idea is to study a system to have a safe organic waste burning to avoid the health and environmental problems.
The improved stove with dryer has been studied and designed to be implemented on pilot intervenSon in one cluster with 3 Syrian refugees families in North Beqa in Lebanon. The cluster selected is in Ras Baalbek with the code RSB04.
ARer a first draR of the stove a meeSng with the families living in the selected ITS has been held. The community showed a posiSve and clear understanding of the benefit that such a stove can give. The design has been developed considering the context, the use of local material to lower the costs and easier- the replicaSon. The idea leading the process was to design a stove that can be easily constructed by the refugees on their own expenses.
The stove has a chamber where the biomass can be burned with more efficiency and aside has been placed a second chamber where organic waste can be dried to be used as biomass fuel. For the design the for composiSon analysis presented in that report had been used as a baseline data. The households will save biomass consumpSon by the 50% of the biomass from the improved stove and by using the dryer biomes from their solid organic solid waste, next will treat the organic waste reducing the risk of polluSon and and diseases. Most probably also the burning of non organic material in the stove will be reduced.