Norwaste has carried out a waste characterization project in collaboration with Penda Paper i Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. 

In Addis Ababa, approx. 3,000 tonnes of waste from the approximately 4 million inhabitants of Ethiopia's capital. It is estimated that 70% of this waste is collected and handled through formal public and private waste systems.  

After collection, most of the waste in Addis goes to the city's landfill with little environmental monitoring and control, where the uncontrolled decomposition results in enormous greenhouse gas emissions and other environmental problems. The landfill is also a life-threatening workplace for many - in 2017 , more than 100 people died in a landfill slide..

The aim of the project is to map the composition of the waste from households and industry. The purpose is to look at the possibilities for producing RDF (refuse derived fuel) from approx. 40% of the waste in the city that can replace fossil coal in the local cement industry.  

The project will take into account the realistic potential for extracting recyclable fractions that is already taking place today through collectors and stakeholders like Penda Paper. Good documentation from picking analyzes of the waste is important in further decisions about investments in waste infrastructure.