KAMPALA – Climate reality leaders and environment activists launched a drive against single use and plastic pollution in Kampala city.
Under the global climate reality project activists from Uganda organized a cleanup day at Ggaba landing site near Lake Victoria to help raise environment awareness in the community as well as promoting positive practices against plastics pollution.
Cleanup day was organized by Climate reality project and attracted various stakeholders to unite communities and demonstrate concern towards environments. Among notable partners included: Sustainable Path Africa, KCCA, RoyalWay Media, Community Integrated Development Initiative (CIDI), Danish People Aid, Ultimate Business Strategies, Teens Uganda, Strong African Women, and Public Health Ambassadors.
The drive is aimed to serve as a catalyst to formulate permanent changes in awareness, attitudes, behavior and encourage adoption of good practices (i.e. recycling) that can have a profound effect on waste management in communities.
Speaking at the community event in Gaba market, the East African Regional Coordinator for Climate Reality Project -David Sempala urged governments, private sector, communities and individuals to come together to explore sustainable alternatives and urgently reduce the production and excess use plastics resulting in pollution of lakes and other natural water bodies threatening both marine and human life.
“We must increase the level of knowledge of the adverse impacts of single use plastics as well as alternatives to single-use plastics. These adverse impacts range from littered roads, rivers, boreholes, and sewage systems which then leads to health and environmental impacts,” Sempala added.
The shift in policy regarding plastic pollution in poor communities. A number of leaders in local governments should work on more stringent waste policies including the establishments of plastic waste collection centers by private sector players and incentivizing the market to collect and recycle waste.
There are staggering statistics on plastic pollution in Uganda. It should make all of us worry.
It is believed that more than half of them are used and disposed of in and around Kampala. At least 51% of plastic garbage in the city is left uncollected. Plastic waste is the major cause of clogging sewage systems in the city.
Kampala generates more than 350,000 tons of solid waste every year and only half of it is collected leaving plastic clogging drains and wetlands.
Recently a partnership was concluded between Coca-Cola Beverages Africa (CCBA), the subsidiary of the global giant Coca-Cola; Stanbic Bank Uganda, the subsidiary of Standard Bank; and the Ugandan company Nice House of Plastics. The agreement aims to promote the responsible use and recycling of plastic waste in Uganda.
Coca-Cola is stepping up initiatives to reduce the proliferation of plastic waste in the environment in Africa. The aim of this alliance is to promote the responsible use and recycling of plastic waste as a means of sustainable environmental protection.
However, private sector has been urged to raise its ambitions to invest more in sustainable packaging and recycling if Uganda is to retain its goals as agreed in Paris Climate agreement.
