The waste management agenda

The relevance of waste management cannot be overemphasised: it saves the environment from the toxic effects of inorganic and biodegradable elements present in waste. It goes without saying that mismanagement of waste can cause water contamination, soil erosion and air contamination, which are hazardous to the environment.

In many African cities, a significant proportion of waste is dumped in the open. Much of it is burned, sending plumes of noxious pollutants into homes, lungs and the environment, thus causing a health hazard.

180 million tons of waste, about 9% of the global total, was generated in sub-Saharan Africa in 2016 and only about 11% of this waste was disposed of in properly designed and managed landfills.

Better waste management points to huge economic opportunities. Up to an estimated 80% of solid waste generated in African cities is recyclable, with an approximate value of US$8bn per annum. However, only about 11% is currently recycled, mostly by the informal sector. Thus, there is need to integrate informal waste recyclers into African economies.

African governments showed leadership in September 2022 when environmental ministers met in Dakar, Senegal, to discuss effective and efficient waste management on the continent, laying a foundation to end the open dumping and burning of waste.

The African Ministerial Conference on Environment (AMCEN) was a platform that consolidated

Africa’s negotiating position at COP27 in Egypt, resulting in a bold commitment to ‘eliminate open dumping and burning of waste in Africa by 2050’.

Needless to say, activating this decision translates into multiple economic, environmental and social implications. Obviously, there is a close link between waste management, the UN SDGs and the AU’s Agenda 2063, and its impact on climate change, biodiversity, human health, food systems, resource scarcity, and social and economic development.

Underlying challenges in waste management revolve around lack of public awareness, weak legislation and enforcement, insufficient budgets for waste collection and disposal, inadequate and malfunctioning equipment, lack of public participation, and inadequate waste management governance.

Zambian example

The Lusaka City Council (LCC) has a Waste Management Unit (WMU) which regulates waste management and is mandated to plan, organise, execute and supervise waste management.

The Unit offers advice to residents on ways of avoiding and reducing waste, recycling and material recovery for both residents and emerging entrepreneurs.

With an ever-expanding population, Zambia’s capital churns out about 1,200 tonnes of waste daily, with generation rate per person estimated at 0.5 kg.

According to the latest report on the status of waste management in Lusaka, the city’s biggest waste disposal site, Chunga Dumpsite, only receives about 40% of this waste daily.

LCC public health director, Christopher Mtonga, says the local authority has accelerated its waste management sensitisation programmes with intensified inspections of premises in the central business district.

The council has placed skip bins along busy roads such as Freedom Way and Lumumba to contain and properly store waste generated by stakeholders and vendors.

“The Chunga disposal site receives about 40% of waste daily. This waste is collected and transported by the LCC, franchise contractors and those transporting their own waste. The remainder is left in the environment to decompose or is burnt, with a small fraction going for recycling,” Mtonga elaborated.

“The Council collects and transports about 70% of the waste disposed at the landfill, while the remainder is handled by the private sector,” he added.

To effectively implement the solid waste collection system, Lusaka has been broadly divided into areas: the conventional housing areas and the peri-urban areas.

The conventional housing areas are those found in planned areas and are generally low-densely populated, while the peri-urban areas are unplanned in nature and are usually densely populated.

The Zambia Environmental Management Agency (ZEMA), a statutory body, has underscored the need to create awareness among the public on the importance of sound waste management systems and their effect on human health and the environment.

“Zambia can effectively address waste management through building capacity for the recovery and recycling of various types of waste streams such as garbage, plastics, insecticides containers, obsolete pesticide stocks, electrical and electronic equipment,” noted a management official at the agency.

ZEMA has called on stakeholders to join hands in championing the eradication of waste and promotion of recycling systems.

Initiatives for change

Currently, Zambia is implementing the ‘Keep Zambia Clean and Health’ campaign with a view to strengthening information dissemination and awareness creation among the public.

The private sector has also come on board with Lafarge Zambia introducing ‘Geocycle’, an innovative solution for sustainable waste management. It aims at managing stakeholders waste and meet their environmental goals. This waste management solution covers industries, companies, municipalities and the agricultural sector.

Zambian Breweries is also implementing ‘Manja Pamodzi’ (meaning working together), in conjunction with LCC and ZEMA. This programme has so far recruited over 800 collectors who collect over 12,000 tonnes of recyclable waste from communities in Lusaka.

With support from stakeholders in the waste management chain and all-round team work, green, clean and health cities are achievable in the medium to long-term. ■