The Lusaka City Council has expressed concerns over the ignorance of waste management among the general public. In a statement issued by the Public Relations Officer, Bupe K Chumbwe, the council revealed that it has observed a trend where many members of the public refuse to pay for the waste they generate, leading to indiscriminate waste disposal.
To manage waste in Lusaka, the council has three types of waste collectors – Lusaka City Council, Franchise Contractors, and Community Based Enterprises (CBE’s). Each of these collectors is assigned to different areas and zones in the city. The Lusaka City Council manages waste in places where no one is collecting waste, including historical waste piled up in undesignated areas, while Franchise Contractors collect garbage in planned settlements. CBE’s collect waste in unplanned settlements, also known as peri-urban areas. This means that all areas in the city are covered by these three types of waste collectors.
However, the council has noted that many members of the public refuse to pay for the waste they generate, leading to indiscriminate waste disposal. The Solid Waste Regulation and Management Act number 20 of 2018 stipulate that all generators of waste must pay for the waste they generate for proper waste management.
The council has warned that it is prohibited under the waste regulation and management act to dispose of waste in undesignated areas and also burning of garbage or litter. Anyone found wanting will be prosecuted in the Lusaka City Council fast track court and may be liable for a fine or imprisonment.
The council has urged the general public to subscribe and pay for solid waste collection to the above-mentioned systems in their respective areas to avoid the indiscriminate disposal of waste and for the sanity of every member of the public. The council also emphasized that the indiscriminate disposal of waste leads to a very costly exercise for the council, thus, negatively affecting service delivery.
The Lusaka City Council has called on all members of the public to take responsibility for the waste they generate and follow proper waste management procedures to maintain a clean and healthy environment in Lusaka.
I will be turning up at Lusaka civic centre to give them a piece of my mind for allowing the city to be a huge dump of garbage. I really intend to pour it out on them. Littering should be a punishable offence by way of a fine or better still community service picking up the rubbish. We cannot go on like this.
“many members of the public refuse to pay for the waste they generate”
This has been caused by the Council’s failure to collect garbage. In the past the council failure to collect garbage has annoyed its citizens too much they dont know what they are paying for. Now LCC you have an uphill battle trying to sway the public the other way round. I must say its a losing battle.
We cannot afford to lose otherwise disease will come for us. Should people who think like you really have the vote?
Instead of buying Helicopters they should have bought Garbage trucks to help keep Zambia clean…the money the wasted on 2 Helicopters is enough to buy 2 Garbage trucks for each City…..problem solved….now we have an overzealous Airforce Commander Barry who is known for corruption and brown envelopes