UGANDA – The Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) is set to procure 80 garbage trucks to improve the collection and transport of solid waste in the Ugandan capital.
The authority will also procure an unspecified number of garbage skippers and place them in spaces of 200 meters from each as collection points where city dwellers can dispose of garbage for easy transportation by skipper loaders.
KCCA says the move will help more than 3.8 million city dwellers manage between 1,200 and 1,500 tonnes of waste produced every day.
Ms Dorothy Kisaka, the Executive Director of KCCA said the garbage trucks and skippers will be procured in the next financial year, starting on July 1, 2023.
“We also want to add value to this garbage. That will happen at the new site in Ddundu. We shall not just go and dump the garbage there, but we want to convert this garbage into electricity,” said Ms Kisaka.
With this new fleet, Kampala will have a total of 99 trucks for the collection and transportation of its solid waste, distributed among the 99 districts of the city.
In addition to improving the collection and transportation of solid waste in Kampala, the KCCA’s approach is primarily aimed at reducing the growing pollution.
According to the Ugandan branch of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), 51% of the waste generated in Kampala still ends up in the environment due to the lack of an efficient waste collection system.
To reduce pollution, Uganda’s most populous city is also focusing on recycling. The Kampala City Council is supporting several initiatives in this direction, including the Plastic Recycling Industries (PRI) initiative implemented by Coca-Cola Beverages Africa (CCBA) to convert plastic waste into plastic granules.
The pellets are used as raw materials in the manufacture of equipment such as chairs, containers and crates for storing beer and milk bottles.
CEVTE to launch ‘Brazzaville without plastic waste’ by end of 2023
Meanwhile, in Congo, the Circle of Elite Travelers in Tourism and Environment (CEVTE) and the citizen initiative Good Deeds Days have joined forces to implement the ‘Brazzaville without plastic waste’ campaign by the end of 2023.
“We are specifically targeting plastic because it is destroying our environment. A plastic bottle has a lifespan of 4,500 years before it deteriorates,” said Elwin Event Gomo, CEVTE’s communications officer.
“Also, because there is not yet a harmonized policy for the recovery of this type of waste in Congo. Ideally, recovery and recycling strategies should be put in place to obtain biodegradable materials. To achieve this, we need to raise awareness among the population.”
In total, nine councils of the Congolese capital will be rid of the tonnes of packaging and plastic bottles that litter the streets and pollute the environment for a month.
‘Brazzaville without plastic waste’ thus reinforces sustainable waste management in this Central African country.
In February 2022, the municipal authorities of the industrial town of Nkayi, located in the Bouenza department, announced the construction of a plant to convert plastic waste into paving stones.
These paving stones will be marketed for various local development works. The facility, which will benefit 120,000 people, is being financed to the tune of 21 billion CFA francs (around 32 million euros) by the European Union (EU) as part of its “resilient cities” program.
It focuses on local and sustainable development and climate action in several municipalities, particularly in Africa.
For all the latest packaging and printing industry news from Africa and the World, subscribe to our NEWSLETTER, follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn, like us on Facebook, and subscribe to our YouTube channel.
