Waste recycling in Kampala on the verge of takeoff

PUBLISHED — 5th, April 2018

Plastic in Kampala City will no longer be treated as mere waste. It’s going to be a cash cow to many city residents who can harvest and deliver plastic to the recycling plant which is in the final stage of construction. Equally important, is the planned processing of organic waste from city markets into fish feed and manure for the city plant nursery.

Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) is poised to unveil the new waste recycling initiative in May 2018 that will take organic solid waste from markets and plastic waste from the general public and turn it into revenue-generating products.

KCCA’s Executive Director Dr. Jennifer Musisi on Tuesday checked the site to establish completion progress, accompanied by the entire Senior Management Team from KCCA, and Coca-Cola Beverages Africa Public Affairs and Communications Director, Simon Kaheru.

KCCA with funding from the World Bank to the tune of US$1million constructed the plant as part of the Lake Victoria Environment Management Project (LVEMP).

Musisi commended the staff of KCCA who have implemented the recycling project, led by Project Manager Dr. James Semuwemba, Architect Bernadette Ssanyu and Mr. Sowed Sewagudde from Ministry of Water for this life changing initiative.

“The work done here so far is very encouraging, and I wish to commend the project team for spearheading this project for the dedication is quite evident here,” Musisi said. The recycling site sits on 3,100 square meters of land in Wankoko close to the city sewerage treatment plant in Industrial Area. “You have done well to reclaim this land and put it to good use in recycling - turning solid waste into valuable products and ridding the city of waste. The markets will now be much cleaner, and our drains will also be cleared of plastic waste,” Musisi added. At the Recycling Centre, organic solid waste from the city markets will be reconverted into animal feeds for nonherbivorous animals, and manure for the new city plant nursery, while the plastic waste will be collected for processing into plastic flakes to manufacture various products.

The organic solid waste from markets will be processed using equipment developed and made in Uganda by the Uganda Industrial Research Institute, at a rate of 30 tons a month. Musisi thanked UIRI for providing appropriate technology for the initiative. She thanked Coca-Cola Beverages Africa (CCBA) for being a lead partner on the project and supporting LVEMP and KCCA’s drive to get rid of plastic waste. “We must thank Coca-Cola in a big way because of the partnership we have been running successfully.

Without CocaCola we would not have done recycling in this way. Thanks to this partnership we now have collection centers and additional projects established citywide and countrywide!” she said. Kaheru said Coca-Cola was pleased to have partnered with KCCA because of the passion KCCA staff have for recycling. “KCCA has done an exemplary job at recycling and has made for the perfect partnership. We look forward to stepping up efforts to collect plastics out of our environment and putting them to use creating value. On top of that, the recycling projects support the creation of thousands of jobs especially for vulnerable women and youth,” he said.

The project is expected to present numerous opportunities and create jobs for over 1500 people along the entire chain as well as improve environmental management. The collection points will include Ndeeba, Namuwongo, Usafi Market, Kanyanya, at the Recycling plant and one other location in Nakawa. High density plastic will cost UGX600 per kilo while low density plastic will attract UGX250 per kilo.

For more information, please contact; 0794660003/25, Email: info@kcca.go.ug and stay connected to our Social Media hub @KCCAUG for speed updates.



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