Uganda’s Capital Kampala is blessed with a luxurious topography, both natural and architectural. Commercial sky scrappers dominate the Central Business District while bungalows and high-rise apartments fill the hilly outskirts of the city and the rapidly developing suburbs.
There is, however, a less-glamorous residential setting whose building structures are often perched on the narrow strips of land off the fenced estates of posh hotels, next to the gapping drainage channels that stink with silt in the dryer seasons and flood to people’s shanty living abodes when rains come.
In these forgotten slums, dwellers struggle to not only have basic needs for their families but also bear the brunt of environmental pollution and degradation whose aftermath leaves a trail of destruction, disease and despair.
Millions of Ugandans call slums like Katanga in Wandegeya, Acholi Quarters and Kifumbira in Banda, Kamwokya – separated from the upper, richer Acacia-Kololo rise by a road – home. Inadequate basic housing, lack of clean water, shortage of toilets and poor garbage disposal are some of the problems facing this population.
To the Aliguma Foundation, a non-profit entity that seeks to transform slum communities through sports and enterprise, empowering people and community-based organisations that are endeavoring to protect the environment in the slums is pivotal in changing the unfortunate status quo.
Fostering Sustainable Waste Management
The Aliguma Foundation in partnership with USAID, Tufts University, and Makerere University, last week launched an initiative dubbed “Waste to Wealth” aimed at creating awareness about the need to transform plastic waste into reusable items.
This plastic recycling component feeds into two major benefits; creating an income avenue for the people involved and purging hazardous plastic waste from the already disadvantaged slum environment.
The Waste to Wealth initiative rides on the 3Rs mantra – Reuse, Recycle, and Reduce which speaks to opting for reusable instead of single-use plastics, recycling the used plastic into other handy materials such as carpets, kitchen mats. This reduces the amount of plastic that fills the low-lying areas carried downstream especially after the rains.
At the launch of the “Support to Environment Defenders in Informal Settlements of Kampala” project held at God’s Care Community School in Acholi Quarters, Banda, various categories of environmental defenders including researchers, pupils, and line community-based organisations showcased different approaches employed in reusing, recycling and reducing plastic waste in the slum communities.
Women and youth, according to the showcases, are immensely invested in the cause. Community researchers and academic giants from Makerere University are also liaising to holistically bolster proper and sustainable waste management guided by data and science.
In his remarks, Mr. Peter Kasaija, a researcher at Makerere University noted that the research also sought to determine the level of understanding and knowledge about plastic and organic waste management among locals which established dire lack of the same.
“We believe that before we can make any intervention, we, the community need to understand these important elements and how their mismanagement affects us all. Recycling is a solution to both plastic pollution and organic waste mismanagement, which are major contributors to health hazards in the slums,” Kasaija said.
Joel Boutroue, the program coordinator for the project noted that to be able to achieve lasting impact, various groups of people from the local councils, youth environmental defenders, pupils, academics and researchers are involved every step of the way.
“We are involving and training leaders in various categories and capacities so that we have everybody on board for the different activities we do. We are training political leaders, environmental defenders, youth and women groups and the younger population so that we have a movement that can uphold environmental protection in the slums,” he said.
Empowering Environmental Defenders
Aliguma Foundation’s “Support to Environment Defenders in Informal Settlements of Kampala” project, funded by USAID, seeks to tackle environmental hazards such as pollution occasioned by waste mismanagement.
According to the Founder Ritah Aliguma, slums like the Acholi Quarters where the foundation has been actively working with locals to transform lives through sports, face direct and immediate dangers of poor waste disposal which frustrates their hard-earned achievements such as plastic flooding of the community playground that hosts soccer trainings and the treasured slum soccer tournament.
“We have a pitch down here in the slum of Acholi Quarters. When it rains, people casually dump their garbage including plastics in the trenches. All of this collects in the pitch which our youths would be using to nurture their talents. We do the cleaning but imagine this on repeat in the rainy seasons, that’s why we are encouraging better waste disposal. We the locals need to be responsible enough and preserve the environment,” Aliguma said.
She reiterated the foundation’s commitment to tackling waste management challenges in Kampala’s underserved areas through community-driven solutions focused on recycling, reusing, and reducing plastic waste.
“In December we will be having a cleaning campaign which will be taking place in Acholi Quarters and the Kifumbila slum but w hope to expand the campaign to other communities to motivate and encourage people on managing waste both organic and plastic,” she added.
Speaking to the media, USAID Uganda Deputy Director, Maryanne Ombija underscored the need for locals to take charge of cleaning up and managing waste in their environment other than resting the responsibility on the government.
Ombija reiterated that the U.S government is committed to supporting such noble causes and aiding initiatives driving progress in sustainable waste management and environmental protection as a whole.
“Water mismanagement increases water borne diseases that are deadly for children and adults. Air pollution is another challenge caused by burning of waste and causes respiratory diseases among other issues. As the U.S government Agency for International Development, we commend the environmental defenders for aiming to build a healthier, safer and more resilient environment,” she said.
Ombija’s call to personal and community responsibility on waste management was re-echoed by the State Minister for Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) Hon. Kabuye Kyofatogabye who presided over the launch.
The Minister emphasized the need for the local communities to employ the Reuse, Recycle and Reduce method to minimize environmental pollution resulting from poor waste disposal. He noted that much as there are government agencies mandated to oversee garbage collection, the primary responsibility lies with each individual, household and community.
Practical Recycling Ventures
Groups of environmental defenders showcased products made from recycled waste and engaged attendees on the waste to wealth processes.
Pupils at God’s Care Community Primary School transformed old plastic jerrycans into waterproof backpacks used to carry books and other personal effects to and from school. Functional zippers from worn out bags were used on the unique plastic bags – recycling at its best.
Representatives from Urban farmers groups made presentations on incorporating the Black Soldier Flies in organic waste decomposition to make compost, organic fertilizers and poultry feeds that in turn can be sold to generate income.
Banda-Nakawa Youth Mission Against Poverty representatives showcased glassware including flower vases recycled from broken wine glasses while Enkumbi Telimba representatives showcased how utilizing organic waste to cultivate maggots used as poultry feeds is a lucrative venture.
What Line Authorities Say
A study done by National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) and UNEP, established that Uganda produced 12,330 tons of recycled polyethylene (rPET) between 2018 and 2021. The study also predicted that this production would increase by 91% from 2022 to 2025.
Meanwhile, less recycled material from polythene was recorded meaning plastic waste is on the increase.
“The quantities of recycled material were found to have been decreasing, leading to an increase in plastic waste in the environment. It was further noted that 135,804 tons of plastic waste were generated in the Kampala Metropolitan Area alone. The uncollected waste constituted 42% of the total, followed by that collected through the value chain (15%) and that collected by service providers (43%). Of the uncollected, 10% ended up in water systems,” the study report indicates.
According to NEMA National Strategy for Promoting Plastics Circularity in Uganda 2023-2028, the government has put in place measures to tackle the problem of plastic waste in Uganda.
NEMA cites the National Environment Act, of 2019, and attendant regulations which have provisions for managing plastic waste and plastic products, as well as Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR).
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The Authority is also optimistic that the recent cabinet-approved Ten-Year Action Plan for Restoration of the Environment and Natural Resources (2021 – 2031) – a “blueprint for the holistic restoration of the environment across the nation”, will springboard affirmative action on salvaging the environment from plastic ruin.