NEMA calls for sorting garbage in homes
Sep 24, 2010
THE culture of sorting waste at households needs to be introduced to reduce the increasing piles of garbage in urban areas.
By Gerald Tenywa
THE culture of sorting waste at households needs to be introduced to reduce the increasing piles of garbage in urban areas.
According to Dr. Aryamanya Mugisha, the director of the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA), it is a vital step in waste management that would help cut expenditure on waste dumped at landfills.
“Most of the waste could be removed at home and used to either feed livestock or in the manufacture of compost or making of charcoal briquettes,†said Mugisha.
He was speaking at a national workshop on compost organised by NEMA and the World Bank at Ridar Hotel, Seeta last week. Mayors of most urban centres and district officials from across the country attended the workshop, which discussed ways of marketing compost.
Compost is one of the by-products of a World Bank-funded project in 10 urban areas in Uganda seeking to reduce emissions that contribute to climate change.
The decomposing waste releases gases such as methane, which trap heat escaping from the earth creating heat and causing a build up around the earth, which has contributed to climate change.
In Uganda, nine municipalities are engaged in waste recycling, which minimises harmful emissions from waste. They are expected to benefit from the Kyoto Protocol, a global treaty on reducing harmful emissions.
However, operators of the waste recycling plants say unsorted waste takes more time and man-power to separate and to remove unwanted materials like plastics.
Mugisha also pointed out that the waste generators need to play a role if the public is to overcome the problem of waste.
This, Mugisha said would create revenue for the urban authorities and also instill discipline among the public. “We could start with large enterprises like hotels and clinics,†said Mugisha. “We should devise means of making waste generators pay and then move step by step.â€
He added: “The hotels could also spearhead sorting of waste. It could also be introduced into people’s residences particularly if the leaders take up the practice. When people visit such places they will also learn and probably replicate it. This could evolve into something in years to come.â€
Dr. Gerald Sawula Musoke said unsorted waste was being delivered at landfills in the nine municipalities where the World Bank project has been rolled out because there is no culture of waste sorting at households. He also said this was leading to impurities from plastic bags that are left in the compost.
Musoke said NEMA considered a number of options such as incineration, electricity generation and making of compost and compost superseded the other two because it was cheaper and apart from contributing to making urban areas cleaner, its by-products (manure) would replenish the soils.
However, NEMA disagreed with Kampala City Council on how to proceed with the project, with KCC preferring to go it alone. Sources say it is proposing to make electricity out of the waste.
According to Jennifer Kutesakwe, a NEMA inspector, people working at the site are exposed to various forms of pollution.
“We saw people without protective gear collecting waste,†says Kutesakwe. “Others were burning waste and releasing poisonous fumes.â€
The inspectors recommended that KCC has to renew its license for operating a waste water treatment plant and a landfill. They also ordered KCC to carry out an environment audit on the facility.
THE culture of sorting waste at households needs to be introduced to reduce the increasing piles of garbage in urban areas.
According to Dr. Aryamanya Mugisha, the director of the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA), it is a vital step in waste management that would help cut expenditure on waste dumped at landfills.
“Most of the waste could be removed at home and used to either feed livestock or in the manufacture of compost or making of charcoal briquettes,†said Mugisha.
He was speaking at a national workshop on compost organised by NEMA and the World Bank at Ridar Hotel, Seeta last week. Mayors of most urban centres and district officials from across the country attended the workshop, which discussed ways of marketing compost.
Compost is one of the by-products of a World Bank-funded project in 10 urban areas in Uganda seeking to reduce emissions that contribute to climate change.
The decomposing waste releases gases such as methane, which trap heat escaping from the earth creating heat and causing a build up around the earth, which has contributed to climate change.
In Uganda, nine municipalities are engaged in waste recycling, which minimises harmful emissions from waste. They are expected to benefit from the Kyoto Protocol, a global treaty on reducing harmful emissions.
However, operators of the waste recycling plants say unsorted waste takes more time and man-power to separate and to remove unwanted materials like plastics.
Mugisha also pointed out that the waste generators need to play a role if the public is to overcome the problem of waste.
This, Mugisha said would create revenue for the urban authorities and also instill discipline among the public. “We could start with large enterprises like hotels and clinics,†said Mugisha. “We should devise means of making waste generators pay and then move step by step.â€
He added: “The hotels could also spearhead sorting of waste. It could also be introduced into people’s residences particularly if the leaders take up the practice. When people visit such places they will also learn and probably replicate it. This could evolve into something in years to come.â€
Dr. Gerald Sawula Musoke said unsorted waste was being delivered at landfills in the nine municipalities where the World Bank project has been rolled out because there is no culture of waste sorting at households. He also said this was leading to impurities from plastic bags that are left in the compost.
Musoke said NEMA considered a number of options such as incineration, electricity generation and making of compost and compost superseded the other two because it was cheaper and apart from contributing to making urban areas cleaner, its by-products (manure) would replenish the soils.
However, NEMA disagreed with Kampala City Council on how to proceed with the project, with KCC preferring to go it alone. Sources say it is proposing to make electricity out of the waste.
According to Jennifer Kutesakwe, a NEMA inspector, people working at the site are exposed to various forms of pollution.
“We saw people without protective gear collecting waste,†says Kutesakwe. “Others were burning waste and releasing poisonous fumes.â€
The inspectors recommended that KCC has to renew its license for operating a waste water treatment plant and a landfill. They also ordered KCC to carry out an environment audit on the facility.