NEMC says the initiative, under the theme Our Environment, Our Life – Let Us Protect It to Protect Ourselves, is designed to foster positive social, economic, and health outcomes by encouraging collective responsibility in protecting the environment.
Dar es Salaam. The National Environment Management Council (NEMC) has rolled out a nationwide initiative dubbed Nemc Usafi Campaign 2025, aimed at promoting cleanliness, environmental conservation, and sustainable waste management across Tanzania.
The campaign seeks to mobilise at least 80 percent of households by December 2025 to actively engage in environmental cleanliness. Other targets include significantly reducing indiscriminate waste disposal in both rural and urban areas, promoting recycling and green jobs, and ensuring that by June 2026 every primary and secondary school has an environmental club.
NEMC says the initiative, under the theme Our Environment, Our Life – Let Us Protect It to Protect Ourselves, is designed to foster positive social, economic, and health outcomes by encouraging collective responsibility in protecting the environment.
According to NEMC’s Director of Compliance and Enforcement, Mr Janal Baruti, the campaign will be implemented in collaboration with the President’s Office – Regional Administration and Local Government (PO-RALG), regional secretariats, local government authorities, civil society organisations, the private sector and the wider public.
“For several years, Tanzania has been grappling with environmental pollution, driven mainly by the growing production of solid, plastic, and hazardous waste. This has resulted in outbreaks of disease, damage to infrastructure, degraded cityscapes, and disrupted marine and freshwater ecosystems,” he said.
Mr Baruti noted that the country generates an estimated 14.4 to 20.7 million tonnes of waste annually, equivalent to 0.66–0.95 kilogrammes per person per day. On average, one person produces between 241 and 347 kilogrammes of solid waste annually.
“This situation highlights the need for joint action in addressing the waste management challenge in our country,” he added.
The Nemc Usafi Campaign 2025 will feature mass awareness drives through traditional and social media, posters, leaflets, and public meetings. Other components include national clean-up operations, inter-school and ward-level cleanliness competitions, tree-planting exercises, the creation of community green spaces, and exhibitions showcasing eco-friendly products.
Mr Baruti called on development partners, the private sector, and civil society organisations to support the initiative by providing equipment, educational materials, incentives for competition winners, and training in green entrepreneurship.
On the issue of medical waste, NEMC’s Manager for Legal Enforcement, Ms Amina Kibola, said the Ministry of Health had recently issued guidelines requiring all hospitals to install burning chambers.
She noted that many health facilities had already made significant progress in acquiring the equipment.
“The amount of medical waste has greatly reduced, and only a few hospitals may still lack these facilities,” she said.
