Mali is a developing country in western Africa, with a stable and democratic government. The official language is French and the capital is Bamako. As in many African nations, solid waste management is an immense challenge, particularly the proliferation of flimsy plastic bags. The bags do not biodegrade quickly, thus taking up already limited landfill space and hindering other materials from biodegrading more quickly. Mali also has immense challenges in ensuring a functioning and effective system for managing the collection and disposal of solid waste.
ICMA partnered the Unified Government of Athens-Clarke County, Georgia, and the city of Bamako to create a model solid waste management system on a small scale that can adapted in other parts of the country.