CONTENTS | ANB-BIA HOMEPAGE | WEEKLY NEWS
by Johnson Siamachira, Zimbabwe, June 1998
THEME = SOCIAL ACTION
Mountains of uncollected refuse on street corners, chocked
gutters,
and the poor disposal of industrial waste are threatening
to turn Zimbabwe's urban areas into dump yards,
as the country sits on an environmental health time- bomb
It has become increasingly difficult for health inspectors to force communities and industrialists to comply with high environmental standards. The situation could worsen unless local authorities can improve their solid waste management skills and get public co- operation.
In this country, most of the solid waste generated is disposed of at landfill sites. The indicators of rapid urban squalor are threatening the state of the urban environment, as the population increases with the rural-urban migration. UN projections indicate that by the year 2010, more than 50% of the 12.3 million people in Zimbabwe will be living in urban areas.
Due to lack of awareness, most of these urban residents do not feel dutybound to keep their surroundings clean, neither do they see why they should be made to pay high rates for the disposal of the tonnes of waste they produce daily. By the turn of the century, the country's towns and cities could be in danger of being swamped by unprecedented levels of the urban population and consequent environmental degradation.
To make matters worse, those responsible for solid waste management in the urban areas, have not yet found a way to work closely with the public, especially the urban poor. Yet there are several ways community involvement can achieve sustainable waste management.
"The potential role of the community in waste management has not been fully appreciated", says Dr.Tevera, an environmental and senior lecturer at the University of Zimbabwe's Department of Geography. "Local communities can play a very important role in managing their own urban environment", he added.
He says that currently, most local authorities are using traditional methods of waste disposal, rather that seeking to identify citizens' needs and concerns. Also, there is also no comprehensive law to curb urban pollution.
Local authority personnel need to be "sensitised", in the words of Dr.Tevera, on community participation in waste management. The public can play a key role in promoting an efficient management of solid waste, by demanding accountability from the service providers. He said that people could be encouraged into managing their own waste through incentive schemes such as competitions and organised disposal, so as to avoid illegal dumping of household garbage. Different waste matter could be put in bins of different colours for easy disposal, collection or re- cycling.
Dr.Tevera also suggest creating composting centres to transform garbage into fertiliser. This would help enrich the soil and create jobs. The first challenge would be to procure sites in urban areas on which to recycle the rubbish and launch projects on an experimental basis. In addition to producing compost, some young people could be encouraged to branch out into market gardening, using the recycled garbage as fertiliser.
"Community participation in this area has a potential but it requires planning and monitoring efforts by the responsible authorities. It will succeed where there is the political will and a systematic follow-up". Dr. Tevera wants private sector participation in the collection, disposal and contracting out of services in solid waste management programmes, so as to target income-generating activities for the unemployed urban poor.
However, there should be a clear understanding about who is responsible for what when it comes to the contracting out and the privatisation of services. Local Councils will still retain responsibility for supervising and monitoring contractors.
Harare City Council, together with city and town councils, is now working towards community participation in waste management.
"Waste disposal is a problem for all local authorities, because our communities have not yet appreciated that they are partners in waste management. Waste will never be properly managed unless the community assumes their rightful role of active participation in waste management", says Mr.Myles Zata, Harare City Council amenities' manager, whose municipality generates about 200,000 tonnes of solid waste a year.
He said legislation for waste management should be improved and "can no longer simply be relegated to a chapter of the more general environment legislation or by-laws". The by-laws in question, lack the technical aspects of managing disposal sites.
"Local authorities, through by-laws, should consistently educate the community on waste management issues. Harare's streets are victims of indiscriminate littering and the disposal of industrial and domestic refuse in open spaces along the highways by motorists, passengers and pedestrians.
Mutare City Council in the eastern highlands, the Forestry Commission, Biomass Users Network (a non-governmental organisation), and other private companies, have started an interesting experiment in encouraging community participation in solid waste management. They turn saw dust and dry refuse from the remnants of sugar-making, into briquettes, which people can sell as a substitute for firewood.
Which just goes to show that when people work together, a problem can be solved.
END
CONTENTS | ANB-BIA HOMEPAGE | WEEKLY NEWS
PeaceLink 1998 - Reproduction authorised, with usual acknowledgement