Africa’s first waste-to-energy plant has been built in Ethiopia

Ethiopia’s Kosche landfill site, the largest in the country covering the size of 36 football pitches, has been transformed into a waste-to-energy plant.

The transformation makes Kosche Africa’s first waste-to-energy site, and follows the death of 114 people who were searching for rubbish last year.

The Reppie Waste-to-Energy Project has enabled to the site to dispose of 1,400 tonnes of waste per day, accounting for 80% of Addis Ababa’s landfill generation.

Through burning rubbish, the heat generated boils water in turn creating steam to power turbines.

The plant can generate enough power to supply households with 30% of their electricity needs, and will conform to European air emission standards.

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The project also aims to create more space for Addis Ababa, and well as reducing carbon emissions with renewable energy generation, and the reduction of toxic chemicals released into groundwater.

“The Reppie project is just one component of Ethiopia’s broader strategy to address pollution and embrace renewable energy across all sectors of the economy,” remarked the country’s Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN, Zerubbabel Getachew, last year.

“We hope that Reppie will serve as a model for other countries in the region, and around the world.”

In Europe, waste-to-management is quite popular, with France having 126 plants, Germany having 121, and Italy having 40.