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Sudan was the largest country Africa until July 9th2011 sharing borders with nine countries. On that date Sudan became two independent countries, the Republic of Sudan (North Sudan) and the Republic of South Sudan. The Republic of Sudan (RS) covers an area of around 1.8 million square km and borders seven countries, Egypt and Libya in the North, Chad and Central African Republic in the West, Ethiopia and Eriteria in the East and the Republic of South Sudan in the South. It has a population of approximately 32 million. Administratively it is divided into 17 states, each in turn consists of several localities. The capital city of the Republic of Sudan is Khartoum located at the confluence of the Blue and White Niles. Due to scarcity of jobs in rural areas, people are migrating from rural to urban areas and it is estimated that the urbanization rate is around 4.3% per annum. The Republic of Sudan is a multiethnic multicultural country with many ethnic and tribal divisions and languages. Arabic is the official language of the country.
The capital Khartoum lies at the confluence of White and Blue Niles and together with Khartoum North and Omdurman, "the three towns,” forms the cultural and industrial heart of the nation. The country is endowed with rich natural resources, including natural gas, gold, silver, chromite, asbestos, manganese, gypsum, mica, zinc, iron, lead, uranium, copper, kaolin, cobalt, granite, nickel, tin and Arabic gum. It enjoys fertile lands, abundant livestock and an active manufacturing industry. On the other hand, Sudan faces a number of environmental challenges related to climate change, desertification and recurrent droughts and floods.
Sudan is one of the most growing populations in Africa with an average growth rate of 2% per annum. About 15% of country' population are found in Khartoum State which has an area of 20,000 km2. Khartoum is an urban agglomeration with a population of about 5.7 million people. A large proportion of the population lives in low-income settlements, including very poor informal settlements and refugee camps reflecting decades of civil conflict in Sudan.
Classification and characterization of waste are important items since Sudan has poor management practices and lack of holistic and detail regulations and policies in place in the areas of waste management coupled with limited infrastructure and poor waste retain as the waste utilization is limited.
Rapid urbanization population growth and other factors such as drought and desertification, have increased rural urban migration in Sudan. This has caused population rise in major cities like Khartoum, leading to increased environmental resources usage, causing various environmental pollution. Accordingly, the quantity of solid waste (SW) increasing rapidly with high health related hazards.
