The heaps of waste littered in every pocket of different towns across the country are an investment opportunity that Ugandans should tap, environmentalists have said.
“When garbage is sorted out such as separating plastics, metals, glasses, bottles, papers and polythene, it reduces the risks of investing in waste management industry,” said Dr Najib Lukooya, the manager, environment and sanitation at Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA).
He added that waste management improves income generation and reduces air pollution. Lukooya said many Ugandans needed a lot of sensitization on waste sorting and its benefits like papers, which can be recycled into egg trays, mats and boxes.
“If we invest in waste management, the entire chain of solid, electronic and human waste will help to reduce the disease burden in the country, create jobs through small enterprise activities and improve household income. It will also help generate fertilizers and energy through biogas technology and save on deforestation,” Lukooya said.
He said waste disposal is provided for under the KCC solid waste management ordinance (2000). The ordinance says every owner of dwelling or commercial premises is responsible for waste generated at those premises until it is collected by the authority and its appointed agents.
Sam Taremwa Rwabwehare, the executive director of Uganda Waste Management and Administration Confederation (UWMAC), said the country had a bigger problem of waste management because there was no direct ministry that handles it.
“Waste management is hidden under authorities like National Environment Management Authority (Nema), ministry of water and environment yet it’s a bigger challenge which needs a whole ministry to handle its issues,” Rwabwehare said.
“Waste management is a global job and UWMAC should be supported to bring together formal and informal components to exchange knowledge and provide resources for a waste management industry,” he said.
He added that the unmanaged waste ends up in water streams and contaminates water which leads to air pollution. The former state minister of environment, Flavia Nabugere, advised people to urgently look for solutions of managing waste since it was both a public and environment threat.
She urged locals to be responsible, reduce waste and share the cost of handling the waste they produce.
zurah@observer.ug