KAMPALA – The National Environment Authority (NEMA) is mooting an ambitious plan that it says will help to manage waste in urban settings across the country.
NEMA Executive Director, Dr. Barirega Akankwasah told PML Daily that the environment watchdog has embarked on sensitisation campaign dubbed ‘Yonja Uganda’ an anti-litter and waste management campaign to encourage citizens to adopt sustainable waste management practices during their day-to-day activities
The anti-litter and waste management campaign has already been conducted in the districts Kalungu, Masaka Districts, Buikwe Mbale, and Tororo.
Dr. Akankwasah said the programme will be extended to other parts of the country over the year to communicate and raise awareness about the main litter and waste management issues in both urban and rural communities
Waste Management has become a problem because collecting it is a challenge when you don’t have centralized data collection centers,” Dr. Akankwasah said during an interview in Mbale City where he led his team, together with the city and district leaders in cleaning Mbale City.
“The first point is to ensure that we sort the waste at the generation point at the homestead level, the shop, factory, supermarket the industrial site. That’s where we must sort the waste [putting] plastics alone, organic waste of food refuse alone, glass alone metals alone, and then we can find use for the waste”.
“The plastics can be recycled back into plastics, and this creates jobs and money for the community. The glass can be collected and recycled as well. The food refuse or what we call normal organic waste has a lot of uses. It can be used to make organic fertilizers for our agriculture. It can be used to generate electricity. If we have adequate quantities of solid waste, it can be used to generate briquettes instead of cutting down our trees to create charcoal for use. Several other things can be made from that waste, including electricity and animal feeds,” Dr. Akankwasah added.
He believes if proper sorting infrastructures are installed at various generation and collections centres “we should be able to easily manage waste.”
A recent survey indicated that the big profiteers are not doing enough to clean the environment. The top polluters produce plastic bottles, which currently form the bulk of plastic waste. This is followed by single-use plastics, according to Tony Achidria, the senior public relations officer at the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA).
Dr. Akankwasah told the PML Daily that new law and other measures being enforced by NEMA will make the biggest polluters pay for pollution through Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR).
EPR encourages companies that manufacture, import, or sell polyethylene phthalate products and packaging to bear financial and physical responsibility for their products throughout their lifecycle.
By incorporating the environmental costs associated with PET products into market costs, the burden of managing used packaging is shifted from the government to private industry.
“The policy and the law are very clear, wherever generates waste must be responsible for it,” Dr Akankwasah explained adding that” The law providers that the Generate of waste is responsible for that waste. So it’s not the responsibility of the city authorities to collect waste on behalf of the people.”
He urged waste generators to enter into partnerships to improve the recycling value chain, shift behaviors and attitudes towards recycling, and develop recycling policies.
Under this arrangement, he said NEMA will now work with city authorities to accredit and certify companies that will allow city authorities to force everybody to sign up with a waste management company.
“If we come to your shop or factory, you must show us a contract you have for your waste collection,” Dr. Akankwasah said adding:
“Now that is going to create jobs for the people working in the companies, it will create revenue for the city because the companies are already paying taxes and it will create ease of management of waste by the person because of economies of scale. One company will sign up with so many people, so it becomes very easy to transport using economies of scale.”
EPR was signed into legislation in Uganda with the National Environment Act, 2019 and the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) is currently developing the National Environment (Extended Producer Responsibility for packaging and related single-use- items) Regulations.
Last year, leading players in Uganda’s beverages industry joined forces to establish a Producer Responsibility Organisation (PRO). This is in a joint effort to self-regulate post-consumer polyethylene phthalate)PET recycling.
Coca-Cola Beverages Uganda (CCBU), Mukwano Industries, Harris International, Uganda Breweries Limited, and Crown Beverages (Pepsi) signed a letter of intent, demonstrating their commitment to creating a sustainable and circular economy for plastic waste. This collaborative effort was facilitated by the Greater Kampala PET Plastic Recycling Partnership.
The PRO will be responsible for recruiting recyclers and subsidizing recycling through contracts for all PET collected and recycled in the country; developing new high-value end-uses for reusable plastics (rPET); training and empowering collectors; and promoting PET collection and recycling through consumer awareness.
Continuous consumer and public education and awareness activities are required to promote environmental responsibility and encourage PET recycling.
Transitioning to a Circular Economy
The establishment of a PRO in Uganda marks a significant step towards achieving a circular economy for PET plastic waste. By introducing a non-profit, industry-driven organization, the member firms are demonstrating their dedication to taking responsibility for post-consumer PET plastic after its useful life. The member firms will pay a monthly levy to the PRO which will use the money to support the collection and recycling of plastic waste. This creates a monetary value for post-consumer PET plastic waste which incentivizes collection and recycling.
