25 tonnes of illegal buveera destroyed

Jul 21, 2008

The National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) has impounded 25 tonnes of polythene bags from a factory in Bweyogerere, a Kampala city suburb.

By Barbara Among

The National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) has impounded 25 tonnes of polythene bags from a factory in Bweyogerere, a Kampala city suburb.

The plant, Tesco, which the Police said belongs to Drek Lubega, had been supplying Kikuubo, a busy trading hub in the city.

“We found the stock on Drek Lubega’s factory in Bweyogerere in a place called Ntebetebe,” said NEMA monitoring officer Dission Lufafa.

The buveera (polythene bags), he said, would be given to the Uganda Manufacturers Association plastic committee for recycling.

Before this, the environment watchdog first tears up the bags. “When we chop them, we deny them market value.”

Lufafa warned that anyone dealing in illegal buveera would be prosecuted.

Last month, NEMA listed 27 shops and supermarkets and three factories that manufacture and sell the wrong size of buveera.

The culprits included shops No. KO11, KO4, KO5, KO7, KO8 and K115, all on Sembatya Arcade, Shop B4 on Capital House and Zibula on Rafiki Building in Kampala.

The industries were named as SPA, Plato Foam and Tesco.

Last year, the Government banned the sale of buveera below 30 microns. However, several shops and factories across the country have ignored the ban.

To compoud the problem, Uganda’s neighbours still make the banned buveera. Some bags from Kenya, meant to be transported through Uganda to Congo and South Sudan, end up here.

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