Since 11 January 2024, some 12 new companies have been involved in the management of faecal sludge in Benin, where the Société de gestion des déchets et de la salubrité (SGDS) previously had a monopoly. These companies are responsible for ensuring that the emptying of faecal sludge is carried out efficiently at household level in the West African country.
In Benin, the government wants to improve the environment in which people live. This is the rationale behind the recent award of 12 approvals to sewage disposal facilities in the West African country, by José Didier Tonato, Minister for the Living Environment and Transport, in charge of Sustainable Development. “These approvals are granted for a period of two years, with an audit at the end of the period”, says the Beninese authority.
The 12 approved companies will therefore support the activities of the country’s Société de gestion des déchets et de la salubrité (SGDS), whose remit has included the treatment of faecal sludge since 28 April 2021. These companies include Société d’assainissement plus (SAP), Établissement Bikimar, Société d’assainissement et d’hygiène environnementale (SAHE), Cité des belles vidanges et entretiens (CI.BE.VE), Société globale environnement (Global Envi), Monda groupe and Société d’entretien et d’assainissement du Bénin (SEAB).
Ensuring an efficient emptying service
The five other emptying companies approved by the Beninese Ministry for the Environment and Transport, which is responsible for sustainable development, are Société industrielle d’équipement et d’assainissement urbain (Sibeau), Société de collecte et de transport de déchets (Socotrade Bénin), Société Messia, Société Services plus, and Groupement d’intérêt économiqueVolonté de vaincre (GIE 2V). “These companies have undertaken to comply scrupulously with the specifications, which require them to provide an effective emptying service for households and to comply with the conditions for collection, transport and disposal at the septage treatment plants (STBV)”, says the SGDS.
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Benin already has several plants handling faecal sludge, including the Sèmè-Podji plant, which has a capacity of 506 m3 per day, extendable to 755 m3 per day. It treats faecal matter from the populations of Cotonou-Est, Porto-Novo and Sèmè-Kpodji, and is supplied by a solar energy production unit built into the site. A similar station has also been built in Abomey-Calavi, a municipality in southern Benin, again as part of the Government Action Programme (PAG 2021-2026). The initiative aims to provide a lasting solution to the problem of urban cleanliness, in order to improve public health and well-being and reduce the harmful impact of the proliferation of waste on the environment.
The SGDS will also set up a system for monitoring and controlling the management, collection and transport of faecal sludge, involving all the stakeholders concerned, with a view to ensuring the success of the reforms undertaken by the Beninese government.
Inès Magoum
