Uganda seeking solution to garbage crisis in capital

By Hamza Kyeyune

KAMPALA, Uganda (AA) - A lot of uncollected garbage is piling up on the streets of Kampala, Uganda's teeming capital of 1.7 million people, situated on the shores of Lake Victoria.

Residents, especially in slum areas, have turned every open area into a garbage collection site, posing health risks associated with poor waste management.

The problem is worse in major open markets, where traders dump mountains of solid waste from leafy fruits, vegetables, and bananas.

The National Environment Management Authority (NEMA), charged with regulating and supervising environmental management, said Kampala generates 1,500 metric tons (1.54 tons) of waste every day, with just 40% collected and disposed of properly.

Most of the remaining waste is indiscriminately disposed of in drainage channels or open land spaces.

“Sixty percent of garbage in Kampala remains uncollected, and this constitutes the greatest part of pollution of our lakes, rivers, degradation of our soil, and rendering agriculture productivity ineffective, and needless to say the rampant blockage of our drainage channels culminating in floods we see today,” said Akankwasa Barirega, the environment agency head.

“The uncollected waste carries along pathogens which find their way into the food chain like the fish, animals which ingest the waste, crops and everything harvested from the soil become infected. And when humans consume meat from the animals or the crops, the cycle of pathogens continues,” he said.

Akankwasa said waste blocks drainage channels and the rest that goes through ends up in lakes, rivers, and other drainage systems and has an effect on the environment.

- Just one landfill

The collection, transportation, safe disposal, and treatment of garbage is legally the responsibility of the Kampala Capital City Authority or its agents, but it acknowledges that the amount of garbage generated overwhelms its capacity to collect and dispose of, given the enormous collection costs.

The city has only a single recognized landfill, Kiteezi, where waste is collected and disposed of.

“The KCCA requires over 60 trucks to fully take over garbage collection in Kampala, but currently, there are less than 30,” said its spokesman Zahara Luyirika.

With the national problem of poor waste disposal, the environmental authority wants cities to crack down on littering and institutional dumping under a 2019 law under which anyone found littering can go to jail for 11 years, with institutions facing fines of more than 100 million Ugandan shillings ($28,000).

Mirembe Hamza of the Kampala city authority told Anadolu Agency that the problem of uncollected garbage is not prevalent in wealthier areas.

He said garbage in upscale Kampala is collected by private collectors who are paid by residents, and that companies charge about $10 per month.

“Much of the uncollected garbage is found in the slum areas, and these being home to thousands of poor people, with others working in the informal sector, they generate lots of garbage daily, but can’t afford the costs of private garbage collectors,” he said.

“This is why you often hear about an outbreak of communicable diseases like cholera mainly affecting slum dwellers. Why? It’s because the garbage remains uncollected, and when it rains, it flows into drainage channels, and some of these people use the contaminated water for domestic chores,” he said.

Hamza said that although it is illegal and punishable to dump garbage in places where it may become a public health nuisance, this is not enforced in slum areas.

Uganda’s president recently directed the capital city authority to collect garbage at no cost from communities with low-income earners – classified as poverty-stricken and incapable of paying collection fees set by the environment authority.

The capital city authority and its solid waste management contractors are scheduled to collect garbage once a week using the “bring to truck” mode of collection.

At each collection, each house is allowed a 50-kilogram (110-pound) sack. Those who have more are required to pay a fee.

Households whose waste is collected on days that are not designated are also charged. In case of delays, whenever it rains, the trash that is not picked up is carried to the drainage system by the water.

- Creative solutions needed

Ibrahim Semujju, an official in the Kira Municipality, told Anadolu Agency that the population is not getting smaller and so there is a lot of waste to handle.

“The demand for sustainable waste disposal solutions rises each day, so entrepreneurs and inventive people should be invited to bring creative new ways to tackle waste management,” said Semujju.

He said that the majority of waste uncollected in Kampala is vegetable matter, ideal for energy generation or manure.

“The solution for this is for the authority to outsource partners to offer creative waste solutions like turning waste to energy, briquettes, among others,” he explained. “This would dramatically reduce large volumes of uncollected garbage in the city and maximize the recycling potential and transforming waste to value.”