Parliament recently ordered the amendment of the by-law related to environmental sanitation to direct the punishment to passengers who throw waste at the stand or on the road instead of the taxi owner, driver or conductor.
It also instructs to have five hours of cleanliness every last Saturday of the month.
This control point is made when Tanzania participated in the Africa Climate Change Conference 2023 that closed yesterday in Nairobi, Kenya as a preparation for a common voice before the United Nations Conference on Climate Change (COP28) in Dubai from November 2, this year.
Its basis is to help the world continue to control waste production based on the responsibility of the country's laws, correct systems of collection, disposal and use of waste. This means that the resource should continue to be reused or recycled to reduce air, land or water pollution.
For example, evidence from United Nations statistics shows that the waste sector contributes more to climate change, biodiversity loss and environmental pollution. An average of 2.24 billion tons of solid waste is collected annually with only 55 percent managed.
Despite the decision, there are still systematic, regulatory obstacles that continue to undermine the efforts of recyclers, hazardous waste incinerators and solid waste collectors and to save landfills as measures to reduce the effects created by waste producers.
Their importance is reflected in the evidence of the Mabwepande Composting Management Company Limited (MCM) Factory, which produced more than 435 tons of natural fertilizer (compost) through an average of 7,397 tons of waste from Tandale, Magomeni, Mabibo, Tegeta Nyuki and Temeke markets.
According to the factory until June this year, the waste contained 4,000 tons of carbon, equivalent to 7,382 cubic meters of waste that was supposed to be sent to the Pugu Kinyamwezi landfill, as well as a reduction of more than 800 trips that would be paid for by the Municipalities of the City of Dar es Salaam.
This means: first is efforts to reduce carbon, produce fertilizer that enters the market thus reducing import costs, saving the municipal budget to pay for the transportation and storage of waste.
Unfortunately, this calculation does not measure its economic and social contribution. Instead, they are oppressed by the guidelines under the National Conservation and Environmental Management Council (NEMC) despite the readiness of improvements to the guidelines for the management and control of hazardous waste.
Regarding the collectors, every company that collects in the street must first submit all income to the council's account and then deduct 10 percent, 17 percent in Zanzibar and 30 percent in Arusha as explained by Julius Mangi who is the chairman of waste collection agents in the city of Arusha.
What is surprising is that these deductions are made on income instead of profit and their payment is late. I spoke to the Director of Dar es Salaam City Council, Ibrahim Mafuru who said that those who are not satisfied should break their contract. Why should we not have one fee for the whole country for the council?
But also, this household waste fee is Sh2,000 to Sh5,000 regardless of volume. As a result, many residents who cannot pay throw their waste carelessly in the river basins when it rains. That is the source of floods and part of the loss of Sh5 trillion every year. We don't see that?
Regarding hazardous waste, there is a systemic challenge that leads to the violation of regulations and the Environmental Management Act of 2004.
First, it is about the management fee of Sh400,000 paid to the two officers (each) who go to the waste incineration area. These are public servants, on what basis are they being paid that money?
Third, if you have four tons to burn, the first ton is Sh2 million and each additional ton is Sh200,000, equal to Sh2.6 million. How can you pay that money to dispose of worthless garbage? As a result, some of the industrial owners have started mixing solid waste at the Pugu Landfill. This is a risk caused by policy weakness.
Fourth, there is a lack of technology for the destruction of transformer waste. For example, the Government sent to South Africa more than 100 tons that cost an average of Sh400 million to be burned there between 2022/23.
The situation is bad in the street because despite the lack of general statistics, in 1998 the production of electronic waste was 2,000 tons before reaching 19,000 tons in 2019.
Last year's Global Waste Index report shows that Turkey has made significant changes in the past three years to waste generation and now has the ability to recycle an average of 47 kg of waste consumed by each of its citizens through the improvement of legal systems, production and recycling.
Therefore, the amendment of the law can re-examine this weakness that sets back the Government's efforts and its goals. We can be like Turkey. There is no reason to look at the charges, fees instead of looking at the breadth of this matter. Let's do an assessment to reduce the burden while introducing a subsidy that will come from a special fund contributed by waste producers.
