Waste must be treated in an environmentally sound manner in order to eliminate or reduce their harmful effects on human health, natural resources, fauna and flora, and on the quality of the environment in general.
Any person who produces or holds waste must itself ensure its elimination or recycling, or have it eliminated or recycled at facilities approved by the Administration in charge of classified establishments after compulsory consultation with the Administration in charge of the environment.
In addition, it is required to inform the public about the effects on the environment and public health of waste production, holding, disposal or recycling operations, subject to the rules of confidentiality, as well as on the measures intended to prevent or compensate for any harmful effects.
A decree implementing the law shall set the conditions under which the following must be carried out collection, sorting, storage, transport, recovery, recycling or any other form of treatment, as well as the final disposal of waste in order to avoid overproduction waste and environmental pollution in general.
With due regard to Cameroon’s international commitments, the introduction, dumping, storage or transit on national territory of waste produced outside Cameroon is formally prohibited.
The manufacture, importation, holding for sale, making available to the consumer of products or materials that generate waste are subject to regulations laid down by joint orders of the competent authorities, with a view to facilitating the elimination of the said waste or, where appropriate, prohibiting these activities.
Decentralized local authorities are responsible for the disposal of waste produced by households, possibly in conjunction with the competent State services, in accordance with the regulations in force.
In addition, they:
– Ensure that all illegal dumping is stopped;
– Ensure the elimination, if necessary with the assistance of the competent State services or approved companies, of abandoned dumps, when the owner or the person responsible for the dump is not known or identified.
Disposal of waste by the person producing or processing it must be authorized by and jointly supervised by the Environment and Mining Administrations respectively, in accordance with the requirements laid down by a decree implementing this law;
The waste must be deposited in landfills that are subject to periodic inspections and comply with the minimum technical standards for landfill development.
When waste is abandoned, deposited or treated contrary to the requirements of this law and the regulations adopted for its application, the police authority must, after giving formal notice to the producer, automatically ensure the elimination of the said waste at the expense of the said producer.
The dumping, incineration or elimination by any process whatsoever of waste in continental and/or maritime waters under Cameroonian jurisdiction are strictly prohibited, with due regard to Cameroon’s international commitments.
The general obligation of maintenance to which concession holders in the public domain are subject includes the obligation to dispose of, or have disposed of or recycled, any waste found there.
It is strictly forbidden to deposit waste on the public domain, including the public maritime as defined by current legislation.
Waste may only be buried underground with the joint authorization of the competent authorities, who will lay down the technical requirements and specific rules to be observed.
The burial of waste without the authorization provided for in the previous paragraph of this article gives rise to landfill removal by the person responsible for the landfill or, after formal notice from the competent Administration, in collaboration with the other Administrations concerned.
Sites damaged by work carried out without authorization or in breach of regulations and sites contaminated by uncontrolled dumping or unauthorized landfill sites are subject to been restored by those responsible, or restored as closely as possible to their original state.
In the event of a formal notice being served by the competent authority and remaining unanswered for a period of one year, the site shall be restored or rehabilitated by the competent authority, in collaboration with the other parties concerned at the expense of the person responsible for the damage, the unauthorized dumping or burial.
The discharge of a pollutant into the air, water or ground is subject to an authorization, the conditions for are set by a decree implementing the law.
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