Solid Waste Management In Uganda

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Uganda is a country located in eastern Africa with a population of 36,864,000 and an overall population density of 137.1/km2 over the whole country. It is bordered by Kenya, South Sudan, Congo, Rwanda and Tanzania. The capital city of Uganda is Kampala district which has a population of about 1,659,000 while the density is 9,429.6/km2. The high density implies a lot of waste is generated on a daily basis. (Uganda Bureau of Statistics, 2002)

Fig.24: Location of Uganda
Source: (borders)

The organization in charge of managing the solid waste in Kampala is Kampala City Council Authority (KCCA) which reports that Kampala produces an average of 600 tonnes of plastic a day while it manages to collect on average of only 5 tonnes of this, the private …show more content…

(Oribags innovation limited) Fig.25: Division of solid waste in Kampala
Source: (Value for money audit report on solid waste management in Kampala, 2010)
Solid Waste management in Kampala is done by public, private and informal sectors of which 21 percent of households are served by the informal waste collectors while 12 percent are served by the KCCA. The formal private sector serves 44 percent, Community based organisations one percent and 22 percent of the household manage their own waste by having their own rubbish pits in their compounds. Municipal authorities collect waste from markets, public places and community transfer points.(Future Directions of Municipal Solid Waste Management in Africa: Mohee, Romeela, Simelane, Thokozani)
The typical waste management scheme in Kampala is as shown in the Figure 27 below with the largest percentage of the waste being unmanaged. Fig.26: Typical waste management scheme in East African urban centers
Source: (Okot-Okumu, …show more content…

Effects of poor plastic waste disposal on the Environment
Loss of soil fertility. Due to the improper disposal of the polythene bags, some areas where they have been deposited in large quantities have lost soil fertility. This occurs because they cannot biodegrade and decompose and since their acidic combination with time disturbs the chemical formulas of the soils. Also when left uncollected, the bags contaminate the soil and cause an impenetrable crust that prevents rain from soaking through, leaving water stagnating in pools gurgling with methane gas bubbles. (Angelfire)

Fig.32: Soil destroyed by polythene bags
Source: (streetnewsservice.org, 2012)

The improper disposal of the polythene bags also leads to the spread of diseases when the bags enter the sewerage and water pipes and manholes for example the break out of cholera in Kampala in 1997 is attributed to improper polythene bags disposal, the deadly female anopheles mosquito that spreads malaria uses poorly disposed of bags as a breeding ground.

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