Categories of Waste Recovered by Ragpickers from Garbage Dumps in Bamako, Mali

Bamako's landfill sites are becoming more and more like vast construction sites, with several players carrying out different activities. This study was carried out with a view to identifying the players involved and the categories of waste recovered by them from the said landfills. A participatory descriptive survey was carried out at four (4) landfills in June 2018 in Bamako. Among the interviewed actors we have reclaimers (93.3% of actors), wholesalers and recyclers (artisans) who, together, contribute to giving a second life to reclaimed objects. The quantity of objects recovered per day by a ragpicker on the dumps was between 10 and 20 kg. Aluminum objects were the most sought-after (60% of cases) among scrap metals. Aluminum, bronze and copper objects were transformed into jewelry and other decorative items by craftsmen. Glass bottles are recovered for reuse. Plastic waste (PET and PVC) was recycled by household goods manufacturing units. Food leftovers were mainly sorted by women. The players set up a recovery system that resembles a circular economy principle. Keywords: Categories, waste, ragpickers, dumps, Bamako.