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Poor waste management remains a challenge to urban local authorities throughout Zimbabwe. The volume of waste being generated continues to increase at a faster rate than municipal authorities can manage. The major pressures and drivers of this environmental challenge include rapid urban population growth leading to the sprouting of illegal settlements and expansion of residential and industrial areas, increased packaging of consumer goods, and change in consumption patterns among others. Another dimension to the challenge is the increase in varieties of waste generated.

Waste affects us in many ways; it affects human health,wildlife, tourism and industrial development. Communities have adopted wrong practices to waste management that include waste dumping at street corners and waste burning.

These acts are against the law and fumes from waste burning contribute to the emission of ‘green house’ gases and the depletion of the ozone layer which threatens the survival of humans and thousands of other living species.

Proper management of waste by communities improves the status of the environment and contributes to a better quality of life. The magnitude of the problem calls for a holistic and integrated approach to waste management.

All of us, stakeholders and individuals, need to join hands and take corrective action to reverse this unpleasant situation.
Community-Based Organisations (CBOs) have been instrumental in alleviating the problem in their areas of residence. These community groups are involved in clean-up activities, awareness campaigns and implementation of environmental management projects and initiatives.

What are Community-Based Organisations?
Community-Based Organisations are community groups that implement environmental management projects and initiatives. They are agents of local authorities; working with them to clean up the environment.

The active involvement of CBOs in waste management started in the early 2000s. During this time, volunteers came together to do clean-up activities and awareness campaigns.

Over the years people began to realise that waste could be turned into a resource and converted to money and more groups were formed. They started producing a variety of products from waste and a substantial number of these groups is actually earning a living from such projects.
Their interventions include the production of petroleum products such as floor polish and candles from plastic, collection of recyclable materials such as plastic, bottles, paper and cardboard, cans, scrap metal for sale while some are involved in the actual recycling.

The majority of these groups make artefacts and some collect biodegradable waste for manure production. Their interventions do not only reduce the amount of waste that ends up in our landfills but also sustains community livelihoods.

Who can form a CBO?
CBOs are groups of individuals who have a passion for the environment and voluntarily come together with the same objective of managing their physical environment. EMA requires that these organisations be made up of at least 15 individuals including men, women, and youths drawn from the local community.

However, various scenarios exist on the ground. Some groups are smaller, some have adopted these activities as entrepreneurial avenues, while others have actually moved from being community organisations to business units.

Any interested groups can register with the Agency and submit their work plans. The groups are also required to establish committees and develop constitutions that will govern their activities. Some CBOs are now registered as Trusts.

Why the CBO approach
Waste management was identified through the Local Environmental Action Planning (LEAP) programme as one of the most common environmental challenges in urban areas and growth points of Zimbabwe.

In response to this and having seen the potential that communities have in waste management, EMA has established over 70 community groups to partake in such activities. The intended goal of the Agency is to ensure a clean, safe and healthy environment to all and the reduction of waste going into the landfill through waste recovery for reuse and recycling.

The involvement of a variety of stakeholders, CBOs included, in waste management is also being done to fulfil one of the key action plans for the Zimbabwe Agenda for Sustainable Socio-economic Transformation (Zim-Asset).

In this economic blueprint, waste management has been identified as one of the priority areas which can also be instrumental in improving community livelihoods.

What is EMA’s role in CBO activities?
The Environmental Management Agency registers CBOs and closely monitors their activities to ensure compliance to environmental laws and safe handling of waste. The Agency also capacitates CBOs through training and supporting their work plans.

Waste management is everyone’s business. You also can make a difference in your community in your own small way; collectively our efforts make a difference.

Reduce, recycle, re-use-Keep Zimbabwe Clean.
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