By Firmain Eric Mbadinga
Waste incinerators made from local materials are becoming an increasingly common sight in Burkina Faso where the challenge to dispose tonnes of plastic waste keeps growing.
Their development was timely - coming at a time the West African country had fewer incinerators to deal with the piles of plastic and biomedical waste that accumulated in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The large-scale use of facemasks and other protective accessories had made waste treatment a priority issue in the country.
A report by the World Health Organization noted that medical waste associated with the response to the COVID-19 pandemic had strained healthcare waste management systems worldwide"
It also noted that healthcare establishments in the least developed countries were not equipped to manage the existing quantities of waste.
The "Wanbzanga" and "Gwaba" incinerators were the brainchild of Jean Pierre Salifou Dondassé and has since been approved by health authorities for being less polluting and more practical.
He said demand for the two products increased following the COVID-19 outbreak.
Conception
But the interest of Dondassé family in waste treatment, particularly biomedical waste started way back in 2002. That was when Jean Pierre Salifou designed the first model of the single-combustion incinerator that he named the "Gwaba" - meaning big fire in the local Joola language.
It was built using cement, iron, clay and other local materials and was designed to treat both conventional and biomedical waste.
"At first, it wasn't easy. We made a lot of attempts, sometimes ending in failure, but we persevered," explains Serge Dondassé, the son of JP Salifou Dondassé, who died a few months ago.
The incinerator was acclaimed as soon as it was launched, winning numerous local awards.
It was awarded the President of Burkina Faso's prize at the Forum for Scientific Research and Technological Innovation (FRSIT) and the Thomas Sankara medal for innovation in Africa, Serge Dondassé tells TRT Afrika.
Its success inspired the design of a second incinerator model in 2016 that was named "Wanbzanga" - meaning eats everything in Mooré, another local language.
It is larger and has two combustion chambers unlike the first model and is more suitable for large health establishments, many of which have been placing orders.
"It's a giant structure that was designed thanks to the contribution of technicians in the field and the African Intellectual Property Organisation (OAPI). It is used to destroy biomedical waste from the COVID-19 patient care centre, where we have installed it," JP Salifou Dondassé explained to journalists at the time.
He added: "We also use it to destroy waste from other health facilities in Bobo-Dioulasso. It is made entirely of local materials."
Won awards
The second model, officially launched in 2016, also won the President of Burkina Faso's prize at the Forum for Scientific Research and Technological Innovation (FRSIT) and the Thomas Sankara Medal for Innovation in Africa.
Whether in Ouagadougou or Bobo-Dioulasso - the country's economic capital - health establishments are relying on the incinerators for waste management.
Serge Dondassé, in his thirties, has taken over the running of the business after his father's death. He also provides the after-sales service.
"Unlike imported incinerators, ours don't take too long to get back into service if they break down because we're there ourselves. And because our machines are made from local materials, it's easier to maintain them," says Serge Dondassé.
"To date, "Wanbzanga" and "Gwaba" incinerators have been installed across the country. For the big ones, we have installed more than 15 and for the small ones, more than 300 in all corners of the country," explains Serge Dondassé.
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