Recycling for deforestation reduction in Tanzania: Why are households not using waste charcoal?

Abstract

Abstract. Ngowi NJ, Ngalawa AA. 2022. Recycling for deforestation reduction in Tanzania: Why are households not using waste charcoal?. Asian J For 7: 1-8. Charcoal making and the subsequent waste charcoal produced to contribute to deforestation and the production of greenhouse gases, the major drivers for climate change. Whereas climate change is increasingly becoming a public issue, Africa produces 63% of the total global wood charcoal. Since 2004, the demand for wood charcoal on the continent has risen by 30%, the highest in the world. The low efficiency of locally made earth kilns, between 8% and 36%, reported in Africa has contributed to increased waste charcoal production on the continent. However, more information is needed on the cycling use of waste charcoal in low-income countries. In order to improve forest resource use, we investigated the factors influencing the cycling use of wood waste charcoal in the Kilosa District of East-Central Tanzania between 2020 and 2021. A total of 298 randomly selected households were involved in the survey. SPSS version 20 tools were used in the analysis through cross-tab descriptive statistics and the independent sample t-test. Results show that sex, age, expenditure on fuel energy, environment, and technology for cooking significantly affected household use of waste charcoal (p < 0.05). The availability of wastes (v = 0.272) was the most influential factor in the cycling use of waste charcoal. The paper shows that cycling the use of wood waste charcoal would reduce volumes of trees cleared for firewood and improve sanitation by removing rampantly disposed waste from the environment.