10 Oct 2024

The public has been implored to view waste as a resource that can be repurposed and recycled to generate income.

Delivering a keynote address at the sustainable recycling and waste management summit in Kasane on Wednesday, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Environment and Tourism, Mr Boatametse Modukanele, stated that a lot of waste materials that could be recycled ended up in landfills due to lack of facilities and public education.

He said most of the waste management in Botswana was handled by informal waste collectors who lacked the support and the necessary resources for effective waste management.

The Permanent Secretary pointed out that with urbanisation and population growth, waste management has emerged as a pressing issue. According to the Botswana National Waste Management Strategy, the country generates approximately 1.4 million tonnes of waste each year, with a three per cent annual increase.

“Most of the waste ends up in landfills, posing serious environmental and health threats,” he warned, explaining that these landfills contribute to the generation of methane gas, which releases harmful chemicals into our soils and waterways.  

He, however, noted that there was a need for more robust policies and practices that prioritised recycling. He emphasised the need to embrace technology that incorporated smart waste management systems such as sensor electrical smokeless incinerators with zero emissions, which were environmental friendly.

Mr Modukanele said it was essential to empower communities with knowledge and tools necessary for effective recycling, including educational programmes in schools for learners to adopt sustainable practices at a young age. He stated that NGOs and associations that promote sustainable environment should utilise the National Environment Fund, the Tourism Development Fund and the plastic levy.

Moreover, he underscored the need to promote environmentally friendly practices at household, and the workplace, which included discontinuation of printing paper and plastic bottles.

Still at the summit, the Water Utilities Corporation (WUC) general manager- Kasane, Mr John Froese, acknowledged that the cooperation was aware of the sewage spillages in Kasane and Kazungula.

He informed delegates that the pump station collector vessel for residential and commercial areas experienced a breakdown in August, which exacerbated the already volatile sewage system.

He said the delays to attend to some of the spillages was as a result of maintenance parts sourced from Sweden as the sewer system was an imported system of which its spare parts could only be ordered abroad.

Mr Froese said WUC was currently resuscitating the rest of the network to connect to a vacuum sewer line from the Chobe Safari Lodge to the Cresta Mowana Hotel.

He indicated that the corporation attended to sewer line spillages expeditiously especially the ones behind Choppies and Spar malls because they were seated in close proximity to the Chobe River, which posed a great hazard to the ecosystem if grey water spilled into the river. ENDS