Abstract
Municipal solid waste management (MSWM) remains a major environmental and public health challenge in rapidly urbanising cities in sub-Saharan Africa. This study provides a comprehensive analysis of MSWM in Luanda, Angola, focusing on institutional, regulatory, and operational dimensions across the waste management chain. The analysis is based on secondary data from official, technical, and academic sources covering waste generation and composition, pre-collection, collection and transport, recycling, final disposal, and governance. Luanda is also compared with Windhoek (Namibia), Cape Town (South Africa), and Kigali (Rwanda), which have more structured MSWM systems. The results indicate that Luanda generates approximately 2.85 million tonnes of municipal solid waste annually, while collection services reach around 70% of the population. Major deficiencies in pre-collection, infrastructure, and service coverage contribute to widespread uncontrolled dumping, burning, and burial of waste. Recycling remains limited and is largely driven by informal waste pickers. Key challenges include institutional fragmentation, insufficient infrastructure, weak policy implementation, and low public awareness. The study identifies opportunities for urban reorganisation, investment in treatment infrastructure, waste picker inclusion, environmental education, and institutional decentralisation.