DID YOU KNOW?

Each household in Uganda generates approximately 1 tonne of Domestic Waste per year! 

        Urban Domestic Waste Management is drawing increasing attention, as citizens observe that too much garbage is lying uncollected in the streets, dustbins, causing inconvenience and environmental pollution, and being a risk for public health. Although government authorities apply all the means at their disposal, the piles of wastes only seem to grow from day to day.

        In Kampala city alone Domestic Waste generation  rates range between 0.5kg and 1.1kg per capita per day. The population of Kampala City and its surbubs is estimated at 1.5 million. The estimate of waste per capita generation per day is 0.5kg. This makes the total collection to be 1.5 million x 0.5kg = 750,000kg per day or 750 tonnes generated per day. Domestic Waste generation is higher among high income earners populations. On average the collection is 45-50% of this and so on a daily basis collection amounts to 375 tonnes or 37,500kg of waste collected a day from Kampala.

        In composition, plastics underwhich polythene falls account for 1.6% with the highest being 73.8% for vegetable matter with the rest being tree cuttings, glass, metals, paper.etc. Kampala city generates 800tons of domestic waste per day.
On the management however, the dumping is done by the K.C.C. at Mpererwe, a landfill made in 1996 after the former one at Lweza and Lubigi.
  
        A comprehensive study was carried out in 1990. The findings are contained in a report called Solid Waste Disposal–Kampala final report which was prepared by Environmental Resource Limited (ERL). This report led to the formulation of the solid waste component of Uganda first urban project.

The population of Kampala can be tabulated categorizing each division in Kampala.
 

                               NAKAWA DIVISION.

                              MAKINDYE DIVISION
 

Area in hectares	4077.80
Population in 1991	186,997
Density	29
Rate	4.8
Population in 1997	247,743
Population in 2000	289,708
Population in 2004	370,854
Density in 2004	91

 

                                     CENTRAL DIVISION
 

Area in hectares	1564.50
Population in 1991	112,787
Density in 1991	72
Rate	4.16
Population in 1997	144,032
Population in 2000	171,602
Population in 2004	218,459
Density in 2004	140

 

        In an era of shrinking Kampala City Council (K.C.C.) budgets and a restriction of the scope of the K.C.C. jurisdiction, the problem is likely to intensify unless alternate approaches can be developed.
 

        Increasingly, the private formal sector is seen as a key participant in the full range of urban waste management activities, including collection, transportation,    treatment, processing, separate collection, recycling, composting, and disposal of   waste. Neighbourhood associations, communities, and small, informal enterprises are increasingly involving themselves in the management of household and business wastes; with the explicit aim of creating livelihoods and maintaining a clean and healthy living environment.

        The word "waste" refers to something that is "no longer serving a purpose", something "without value" (The Concise Oxford Dictionary). Obviously, however, certain people in certain circumstances consider waste materials as a resource for their family, their livelihood, or their enterprise. So- called waste materials may serve as a crucial resource within households. For example, oily milk packages may be used as fuel; leftover food may be fed to pigs and goats; discarded       cardboard may serve as walls and roofs of houses. If that is the case, one can expect that household members re-value waste materials and see their usefulness for different purposes, such as domestic utility, saving on household expenditures, earning money, or other purposes.