|
Municipal councils: Why neglect refuse disposal?
2008-01-21 08:54:02
By Editor
Refuse collection is a fundamental local government service. It is the most visible municipal service compared with other social services provided by the local authorities.
Sad to say—much as most people regard waste collection as a principal service of local governments—the truth is, in Tanzanian urban centres—the majority of city and town residents have totally given up hope that a day would come when local government authorities would make refuse collection one of their top priorities.
There are some few towns in this country where the efforts of urban councils in solid waste collection are visible, but for most, the most important duty is face saving and apple polishing, that is, to ensure that only the major streets and business districts are clean, such that no national leader would come hard on them for neglecting that duty.
They neglect the residential areas, including the squatter zones, where people resort to short cuts when it comes to waste disposal, and how they dispose it is not very palatable, but this is what is actually going on.
In places like Dar es Salaam, some small organizations have been commissioned to undertake rubbish collection in certain localities.
Quite interestingly, some of these firms simply collect advance refuse collection fees only to disappear without providing any service.
It is true that there are some which are doing a good job, but these are the exception rather than the rule.
So where does the problem lie? How can a city like Dar es Salaam, which has over three million people, be unable to wake up to the fact that having and implementing an efficient waste strategy is one of its key roles?
The waste that is collected, how is it disposed? Generally speaking, it is sent to landfill. Almost all the rubbish goes to fill holes in the ground.
The dumps where the garbage is thrown attract hordes of scavengers, who, to their credit, help dispose some of the waste by recycling it back into the market.
The larger part of the filth is usually burned by the city workers, and the resulting smoke pollutes the neighbouring residential areas, such that people have come to regard the public dumps as both a nuisance and health hazard.
They are up in arms whenever a new dump is to be set up in their vicinity.
As for industrial waste, there are even worse cases whereby some of the industries simply channel their toxic waste into nearby streams that pass through populated areas, in which ignorant children are fond of washing their clothes, drawing water, swimming and fishing.
The result of this fatal behaviour are clear.
We call upon the local government authorities to revisit their attitude towards the significance of waste collection.
An efficient urban refuse collection system is one of the key indicators of the level of development of any society.
Let them have a holistic plan on how to dispose the waste that we produce in an environmentally friendly way, possibly by enlightening household members on methods to reduce garbage, by finding more and more ways to re-use and recycle the refuse or to compost it, and of funding that exercise.
Refuse collection is a major area of a country’s economy. Let us treat it as such.
|
