EU tells the private sector to invest in waste management

May 30, 2016

Schmidt cited the example of a three fire stove which he said loses more energy in the process of cooking yet through simple technologies, the same energy can be tapped and used for cooking

The European Union (EU) has challenged the private sector in Uganda to institute waste management mechanisms to produce products that protect the environment.

The call was made by the EU Ambassador to Uganda Kristian Schmidt while officiating at the Switch Africa Green networking forum under the theme "Supporting African Countries in the Transition towards an inclusive Green Economy Based on Sustainable Consumption and Production Patterns" in Kampala.

The forum is aimed at discussing opportunities and barriers faced by the private sector in scaling up their green business transition to an inclusive green economy.

Switch Africa Green project is aimed at changing the mindset of Africans including Ugandans to adopt sources of energy like renewable energy using the available materials in the market.

The program that is being funded by EU to a tune of €19m, wants to help African countries move from the current ways of production to those that take into account environment issues. Countries taking part include South Africa, Ghana, Burkina Faso, Mauritius, Kenya and Uganda.

"This can be done by Small and Medium Enterprises (SME')s learning and adopting processes that are not harmful to the environment like the AFri banana, an SME in Uganda that is converting waste from bananas and into Charcoal briquettes for cooking," said Schmidt.

Schmidt cited the example of a three fire stove which he said loses  more energy in the process of cooking yet through simple technologies, the same energy can be tapped and used for cooking, lighting and boiling water as demonstrated by some SME's in renewable energy from Ghana.

The other example is Afribanana, a company that is turning banana waste products including charcoal briquettes used for cooking, which not only removes waste from the public but reduces the number of trees that would be cut down for charcoal.

Divided into three components, the project is helping participating countries with policy formulations to help put in place the necessary polices that support the transition to green energy business.

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