Fri, 02 Dec 2016 10:20:03 +0000
By Nation Reporter
GOVERNMENT has invited a delegation of Chinese investors to carry out feasibility studies and explore possibilities of generating electricity from garbage in Zambia.
In an interview with the Daily Nation, Lusaka province minister Japhen Mwakalombe said that the Chinese were also ready to invest in power generation from garbage once they were satisfied with the business environment in Zambia.
“We are expecting a delegation from China who want to make use of the garbage that we consider to be filth. There is a lot of uncollected garbage especially in Lusaka that can be used into something valuable. So the Chinese are ready to invest into power generation from garbage and they have the experience in that business,” he said.
Mr Mwakalombe bemoaned the amount of uncollected garbage in Lusaka and noted that people were looking at garbage as filth but that it had the potential to be utilised.
He explained that garbage could be used to generate power or be recycled into plastic and that a delegation from China was expected in the country to explore possibilities of investing in garbage.
He further disclosed that the Chinese had invested extensively in garbage and that they had the experience to utilise it into something useful.
During the provincial ministers’ tour to China, Mr Mwakalombe had the opportunity to see how garbage was processed into useful substances, and said that most cities in China were very clean and without garbage because it was something very valuable.
“When we visited China, I had the opportunity to visit plants where our friends are utilising waste. They are generating power from waste and recycling it to plastic. People are making a living from it and employment has been created. So if we do the same in Zambia, it would be one solution to even make sure our towns are clean,” he said.
Mr Mwakalombe revealed that some people in China were making a living out of supplying waste to companies that processed it into valuable substances.
He pointed out that Zambians too could make a living out of supplying garbage and that the cities would be kept clean.
