An important aspect of the ERA-SOLMAB project is research in the field of waste management and waste-to-energy in Mali. Among the tasks performed in the project is the review of current waste management practices in the country. This serves as foundation for the experimental work performed in Bamako (Mali). One of the goals of the research is to identify existing collection routes in the city and optimize them to reduce time and resource consumption (e.g. fuel).

Another task undertaken by the project is the installation of waste bins on the campus of USTT-B, including a student hostel. Two different types of bins have been installed to separate organic and residual waste. This helps to analyse the waste behavior of the students and the waste composition. This has been complemented with a survey.

Additionally, to explore energy recover options from waste in the Malian context, a biogas plant has been installed at USTT-B. For this purpose, different organic waste fractions are mixed with cow dung to analyse their effect on biogas production. Key parameters from the biogas and digestate have been measured for this analysis.