The nuisance of plastic waste dominates litter in Lusaka

Mon, 27 Feb 2017 08:24:52 +0000

By CHINTU MALAMBO

PLASTIC waste has dominated the litter that is generated in Lusaka, says Lusaka City Council (LCC) public relations officer Habeenzu Mulunda.

Mr Mulunda said there was no denying that plastic waste was responsible for the flooding in the city when it found its way into the drainage system.

He pointed out that the effects of plastic waste were quite devastating as opposed to other types of waste which could easily be cleared.

Speaking in an interview Mr Mulunda said plastic waste had been a problem for a longtime now as it had blocked drainages and thereby causing the city to flood during each rainy season.

He said people did not care to throw plastic bags in disposal bins which have been plotted all the city and opted to throw them anyhow because they did not realise the effects of plastic waste to the environment.

He said plastic waste could stay for over a hundred years
before it finally decomposed, and if not controlled, could completely damage the management of drainages.

He however said that the Zambia Environmental Management Agency (ZEMA) was pushing for regulations with the government to control the use of plastics bags in Zambia.

He said that would help fight the battle of littering in the city and the suggested policy of making every one pay garbage collection or the waste management fees to help in help acquire an advanced equipment so that all areas in the city were kept clean.

“The compulsory waste management fees that we are advocating for will be very useful in terms of garbage collection in the city,” he said.