All kinds of wastes

(This is an example of coordinated trash removal in Southern Benin. This provides the food for many animals, sadly they cannot eat plastic...c'mon evolution)


As you can assume I have had to get used to many different things and change many behaviors now that I am living in Benin. It has been a fairly easy transition thus far, without any major problems, but there are two things that are a little more challenging for myself to adapt to.

There is hardly any coordinated solid waste trash removal service in this country, especially in the south where I live now. That means that trash lines the street, flows in the waterways, and grows in the piles behind houses. Ohh wait, sorry, there is one form of trash clean up, which I almost forgot: larger piles of trash do exist where groups of people throw their stuff and every now and again a concerned citizen will light that trash pile on fire. I love riding my bike past those! Furthermore, in the states, I was (and am now even more) a huge fan of trashcans, trash pick up, garbage dumps that are environmental cared for, and recycling. Guess who has to become accustomed to throwing all trash behind the house or on the street as I walk? That would be me, just in case you didn’t know. The one that continually put ‘please recycle’ signs on the front desk’s recycle bin at the Memorial Union now has to throw his plastic bags, food waste, and anything else outside where it becomes a part of this picturesque landscape. In Benin’s defense, the Beninese people don’t consume even close to what American’s do, so what they, and now I throw away is minimal. One fact for you that I read in my book: “The average ecological footprint per person for those in developed nations is 54 acres, while in Africa each person only consumes about 2.5 acres. The earth can support only an average footprint of 39 acres/person.” Regardless, I lose a little bit of my sole every time I have to throw something out, by throwing it outside. The Peace Corps is teaching us nifty things to do with the waste, such as turning these tiny black plastic bags, which everything in this country is carried in, into wallets, coin purses, etc. My friend Johnny and I are going to try and develop a cowboy hat out of them. Also, I will be building a compost pile at my future post and encouraging everyone around me to do the same. So, if you ever feel like not recycling or you want to throw your trash on the ground, please think of me and say, “I am going properly dispose of my trash/recycling for Tony, because he can’t.” Thank you in advance.

Moving onto the other thing that will take some getting used to. Not only are bathrooms with running water (ie flushing toilets) uncommon, public bathrooms or even latrines are next to impossible to find. Next time you are at a bar and have to pee because you have been drinking, imagine that there are no bathrooms. Now what do you do? Guys have it much easier then women. If we can find a discreet place to relieve ourselves we are fine. Then again, discreet is not in the Beninese vocabulary and thus, often you will see people just taking a leak on the side of the road, thankfully facing away from traffic. Despite the fact that guys have it much easier (I am going to describe what women do in a sec), I cannot help but find it unnerving to aim in front of a cement wall, with the equivalent traffic of the southbound exit toward Chicago as you head east into Milwaukee, flying by 40 feet behind you. Women on the other hand... If, and there is a strong emphasis on the if, a woman can find a bathroom as she is out and about, it will most likely amount to nothing more than a hole in the ground, about the size of a small pancake. So, role up your pants ladies, because there is no way you are not going to splash urine all over your feet and legs as you try to balance, assisted by nothing, over said hole. This is all I am going to say about our other form of bodily excrement: Thankfully the diet here is heavy in starch and low in fiber so as long as you can avoid diarrhea-causing parasites, bacteria, and/or viruses this is not as much of an issue. If you don’t know how starch or fiber regulates your BM’s (not building managers, for those Memorial Union folk), go ask a health professional. Ohh, and never forget to carry toilet paper or soap/hand sanitizer, because they have not begun to appreciate either as of yet.

The general rule for all things bathroom related is, if you are far away from your house, where you will have a latrine per Peace Corps housing standards, you just might be shit out of luck.