How to mange household waste

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Food waste, which can easily be recycled into useful products, makes up about 85% of household garbage.

However, many people, dump it on verandahs and anywhere they find in their compounds. This makes them live with a stench and flies. 

Also, the practice has led to the accumulation of large piles of garbage in neighbourhoods in urban areas. If garbage is well sorted, some elements of it can be recycled. 

The rest can be raked out to dry and later be burned. It is important to train family members on how to manage household garbage. 

Haruna Kiyemba, who works with a garbage collection company in Wakiso, says poor waste disposal is a big problem in Uganda. 

“There were free plots where people dumped garbage. But with population growth and the development of vacant plots, people now have nowhere to dump waste, save by the roadside,” he says. 

David Luyimbazi, the Deputy Executive Director at Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA), says people are responsible for the waste in their homes, and littering is an offence. 

"Those who own compounds or engage in urban agriculture can consolidate their efforts to manage waste better. That is why we are currently encouraging urban agriculturalists to adopt better practices of waste management,” Luyimbazi says. 

He agrees that those who live in slums have a challenge with garbage collection, and so should pay for the service. 

Ronald Lotet, a senior environment officer in Mubende, says poor disposal of domestic waste attracts flies, rats, snakes, and animals like cats and dogs into the neighbourhood. 

Most of the waste ends up in trenches and drainage systems, blocking them. This has led to problems with floods and pollution of water sources and the environment. 

As part of a solution, Lotet suggests the use of a refuse pit. According to him, the ideal refuse pit depends on a family’s size. 

It should be 3x6x6. He recommends spreading a thin layer of the excavated soil on the daily disposed refuse to deter scavengers. 

It should be in accordance with the Public Health Act, which states that such a pit should be 30 feet away from the house and 100 feet away from any water source. Every homestead should have a pit.

Local leader and environmentalist, Jonathan Luwaga, who lives in Wakiso asserts that sorting domestic waste at the source is the only way to make it useful. 

Biodegradable materials can decompose into manure, which is a valuable resource for backyard gardens and animal nutrition. One can burn non-useful items like paper, clothing, and shoes. 

The National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) needs to redefine its mandate of advising and planning on environmental issues to include direct intervention to compel the government, local authorities, and citizens to properly manage domestic waste. 

They should enforce laws on garbage sorting, recycling, and incineration.

Sanitation costs

According to the Auditor General’s 2015 Value for Money report on sewage management in urban areas, poor sanitation costs Uganda sh389b annually, equivalent to 1.1% of the national Gross Domestic Product (GDP). 

In addition, the Auditor General said the economic implications of sanitation-related illnesses go beyond immediate health issues to loss of productivity and death. 

The diseases also result in the reallocation of resources from other essential items, the report noted. 

According to the report, just like other African cities, access to good sanitation in Kampala is not moving at the same pace as urbanisation and industrialisation. 

“Public sewers serve less than 7.5% of Kampala residents, while the vast majority rely on various forms of on-site sanitation that vary in quality and effectiveness,” the report stated. 

According to Luyimbazi, KCCA must formulate a comprehensive policy that all stakeholders comprehend.

Meanwhile, they must educate the populace about the risks associated with inadequate waste disposal, encourage the reuse of non-biodegradable materials like plastic containers, recycle non-recyclable items, and transform organic waste into farmer-useable manure. 

At the end of it all, there will be less garbage and a cleaner, healthier environment in which to live.