Improving municipal solid waste management in Algeria and exploring energy recovery options

Effective municipal solid waste management (MSWM) posed a significant challenge for numerous developing nations, including Algeria. The imperative to convert household waste into value-added products for both environmental and economic benefits was crucial. However, limited knowledge and resources often hindered the exploitation of waste for energy generation. In Algeria, as in many African countries, landfilling remained the predominant method for disposing of household waste. This paper presented findings from a study conducted in Tlemcen Province, Algeria, shedding light on the severe environmental and health consequences resulting from mismanaged waste in the region. The investigation revealed that all waste sites in Algeria were not harnessed for energy production. A detailed analysis was conducted on a specific site, Jabal Al-Hadid, uncovering a waste composition of 62 % organic, 33 % recyclable, and 5 % non-recyclable materials. Anaerobic digestion was estimated to have produced approximately 84.23 × 106 m3/year of methane, with a potential electricity generation of about 192.37 GWh/year at this site. Highlighting the untapped potential, the utilization of landfill sites for energy production in Algeria could have reduced national electricity consumption in the construction sector by approximately 11.3 %. Despite the focus on a specific province, these findings had broader implications for addressing waste management challenges on a national scale.