Household waste management has taken a major place in the public debate over the past two decades in Benin. In the central district of Comè in the department of Mono, this has resulted in the development of new regulatory mechanisms and the increasing involvement of the private sector in waste management. But, in a context of decentralization, waste management, despite the system put in place, still encounters many difficulties, especially with increasing impoverishment.

One of the major problems in cities in African countries remains the management of household waste. In his thesis on the issue of household waste management in the city of Cotonou, Roch Gbinlo writes that “urbanization, increased food needs and household waste go hand in hand in developing countries and in particular in Benin”. The city of Comè is no exception to this. Better still, the large quantity of waste generated in the city is thrown into illegal dumps without any basic infrastructure or facilities to protect the health of the surrounding populations and the environment. In this city in southwest Benin, about 60 km from Cotonou, it is therefore not uncommon, during a walk, to see illegal dumps here and there as in front of the General Directorate of Customs. In the market as in the neighborhoods of the city, wild dumps abound. “I'm going to throw my rubbish on a heap of garbage behind the house”, confides Dame Gisèle she met in the Mon Berger neighborhood. Amanvi Kouassi indicates that she throws her garbage not far from her dealership and that she does not see how it bothers her. For him, even if this garbage gives off foul odors, residents must put up with it. Because their parents always did it that way. Some even prefer to burn their trash. “When the garbage becomes important, we burn it”, informs Dame Françoise, whom she met not far from the CEG of Comè in the Hôtel de Ville district. Still others have made the option of subscribing to garbage pre-collectors.

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