Waste Disposal Facilities

Transfer Stations around the island

The twelve Local Authorities are responsible for the collection of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW), utilizing in-house, outsourced, or a combination of both approaches. The collected waste undergoes transit through five strategically positioned transfer stations, namely: 

• La Brasserie transfer station (Sotravic Ltee – Mob 59427087)

• La Chaumiere transfer station (Sotravic ltee – Mob 59427087)
• La Laura transfer station (Compagnie Regionale de Service de l”Environnement Ltée– Mob: 52521805)
• Poudre d’Or transfer station (Maxiclean Co Ltd – Mob 52585547)
  Roche Bois transfer station (Serveng Ltd/Square Deal Ltd – Mob: 52533540)

The Local Authorities (excluding Grand Port and Savanne District Councils) and other waste generators channel their collected waste through these transfer stations. At these stations, municipal wastes are loaded into larger truck trailers and transported to Mare Chicose for landfilling. Solid wastes collected in the southern part of Mauritius are directly transferred to the landfill.

 La Brasserie Transfer Station

Poudre D’Or Transfer Station

La Chaumière Transfer Station 

La Laura Transfer Station 

Roche Bois Transfer Station 

Wastes transferred to and from the Transfer Stations for period 1 July 2021 to 30 June 2022

Civic Amenity Centres (CACs)

With the view to shifting towards the circular economy approach in the solid waste sector, civic amenity centres  (CACs) have being constructed within transfer stations to allow households to dispose of their recyclable wastes such as paper, plastics, metals, wood wastes, E-wastes, waste oils, fluorescent tubes, used tyres, construction and demolition wastes.  Appointed registered recyclers are then allowed to collect the recyclable materials for recycling or for exportation for eventual recycling.    

Status:

• La Chaumiere Civic Amenity Centre (operational since 18 November 2020)
• La Laura Civic Amenity Centre (operational since 28 October 2021)
• Poudre d’Or Civic Amenity Centre (operational as from 28th July 2022)

Registered Recyclers and Exporters

La Chaumiere Civic Amenity Centre 

The Mare Chicose Landfill Site

The Mare Chicose Landfill, Mauritius' only sanitary landfill, has been operational since 1997. Situated in the southeastern part of the island, it spans an area of 50 hectares. This engineered landfill follows best current practices, incorporating guidelines from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Landfill Manual. Its design prioritizes waste containment and the safeguarding of human health and the environment. The landfill is managed by a private contractor under the oversight of a consultant.

The landfill cells at Mare Chicose have been systematically developed and filled, following a sequential numbering system (There are currently 9 cells, that is Cell 1 to Cell 9, including extensions and sub-cells.). In June 2024, the landfill site covered a total area of approximately 40 Ha and included Cells 1 - 9 with extensions and sub-cells.. With an annual landfilling volume of around 540,000 tonnes and a cumulative waste disposal of about 6 million tonnes, the engineered landfill adheres to environmentally safe practices. 

Key safety measures include a composite soil and plastic lining at the base, leachate collection to prevent groundwater contamination, and the extraction of landfill gas for flaring and power generation. Ongoing environmental monitoring ensures the protection of the natural surroundings. 

Anticipating the saturation of the Mare Chicose Landfill post-2019 and to avert a waste management crisis in Mauritius, plans for the vertical expansion of the landfill were proposed. The Contract for Vertical Expansion of the Mare Chicose Landfill was awarded in July 2024 with a contract period of 10 years, aiming to enhance the landfill's disposal capacity.

Disposal of Condemned Goods at Mare Chicose Landfill

Condemned goods are disposed at the Mare Chicose Landfill on appointment basis under the supervision of Technical Enforcement Officers of the Solid Waste Management Division of the Ministry of Environment, Solid Waste Management and Climate Change and condemned goods are disposed on weekdays, that is from Monday to Fridays from 9.00 hours to 14.00 hours..

The annual cost to Government for solid waste disposal could be significantly reduced by segregation of solid wastes at source of generation thus facilitating their recycling by economic operations and diverting waste from landfill. A new Solid Waste Management Strategy has been prepared with focus on source segregation, waste composting and recycling. It is expected that waste segregation at source will be implemented by mid-2026. (Note: waste segregation is expected to start 8 months prior to operation of the IWPFs, following distribution of bins).

A feasibility study was commissioned by Kukuza on the setting-up and operation of two Integrated Waste Processing Facilities (IWPFs) in the Northern and Western region respectively comprising of one composting plant and sorting unit each on public private partnership (PPP) basis.