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Sifelani Tsiko and Tendai Mugabe
President Mnangagwa today joins the Gutu community in cleaning up the environment at Mpandawana. This is the first time since the launch of the national clean-up programme in 2018 that the campaign has been taken to rural areas.

The President will have a packed programme which will start with a two-hour clean-up at Mpandawana bus terminus.

He will then proceed to open a laundry and mortuary at Gutu Hospital after which he will address a rally at Matizha Business Centre.

Vice Presidents Dr Constantino Chiwenga and Cde Kembo Mohadi will lead the clean-up in Mvurwi and Binga, respectively.

First Lady Auxillia Mnangagwa will lead the same initiative at Kasimure Business Centre in Karoi, while Defence and War Veterans Affairs Minister Oppah Muchinguri-Kashiri will be cleaning in Harare CBD.

Zimbabweans from all walks of life will also take part in the clean-up in their localities between 8am and 10am.

When the President declared the first Friday of each calendar month – the National Environment Cleaning Day in 2018, he had a dream to turn Zimbabwe into one of the cleanest countries in the world.

The move sought to ensure that the country had vibrant sustainable environmental management and waste disposal systems.

The clean-up has largely helped in conscientising individuals and organisations on the importance of cleaning up the country.

Environmentalists, local authorities, corporates, churches and individuals all agree that high-level political pressure behind the clean-up has largely contributed in raising awareness.

Environmental Management Agency (EMA) spokesperson Mr Steady Kangata said the clean-up had scored many successes.

“The successes of the national clean-up campaign are many and varied. One of the major impacts of the programme is that it has led to the growth of recycling industries in many parts of the country. Issues related to the clean-up and collection of waste have also led to the creation of green jobs and the rise in companies that are seeing huge opportunities that are coming with the national campaign,” he said.

On the back of growing consumer backlash against the use of plastics and the push for recycling systems, a number of local companies such as PepsiCo Recycling, Waverley Plastics, Flight Serve, Marume Recycling, Food, Delta, Nyaradzo, Econet, among others, have started operations to reduce the share of non-recycled plastic in the packaging of their products

Most of the companies now have varied approaches in the infrastructure to collect, sort and process recyclable plastics.

“As a result of this national clean-up exercise, there has been a marked shift in the operations of many companies and this has also led to a massive buy-in and participation by the private sector,” said Kangata.

Corporate sector participation has been remarkable and a number of large companies such as Net One, Tel One, Nyaradzo, Econet and many others are going beyond the broom to adopt certain zones of the city for care and maintenance. This has motivated numerous other companies – large and small to come on board and adopt many zones within the city of Harare.

PepsiCo Recycling, for example, is now moving to extend the company’s goal of increasing the recycled content in its beverage packaging as well as aiming to make all of its packaging recyclable, compostable, or biodegradable.

An Econet Wireless subsidiary company, Cassava Smartech Group, has expanded its footprints by venturing in the waste management industry, leveraging on its technological base to synergise already existing players in the sector for efficient waste collection.

Through its CleanCity subsidiary, Cassava aims to create more than 5 000 jobs in the management of waste and disposal in various communities at a time when most local authorities in the country are grappling with rising waste levels.

CleanCity’s allows clients to schedule waste collection at their homes, offices and communities, while making payments via the ecocash platform.

Beverage manufacturer Delta and several other companies in the food and beverage industry have also increased their investment in environmental management and waste disposal systems by supporting recycling activities in various communities.

Said Mr Kangata: “With this national clean-up programme, we are moving in the right direction as a country. The programme has raised awareness, consciousness and the participation of the masses in cleaning our environment. There is a marked change of perception despite challenges we continue to face in terms of law enforcement. We are working with local authorities and the ZRP to strengthen enforcement at local authority levels.”

According to a 2011 study by the Institute of Environmental Studies at the University of Zimbabwe, the country generates 1, 65 million tonnes of waste per year.

Out of this, 25 paper is paper, 32 paper biodegradable, 18 paper plastic, 6 paper textile, 7 paper metal and others make up the remaining 12 paper.

“We need to promote an integrated waste management system across the country instead of the linear approach – collect, transport and dispose, which is still being used by most local authorities.

“This linear approach has many challenges. If we adopt an integrated approach with local communities utilising garbage drop-off points to sort, manage and recycle for instance biodegradable matter (vegetable, crop and plant residues) we can reduce the waste management burden for councils by 32 percent,” said Kangata.

Others say while the national clean – up exercise was a plausible one, it has not done enough to change behaviour.

“People are still throwing litter everywhere with impunity,” says Fraser Mabeza, a Harare resident who has participated in clean-up campaigns in Mt Pleasant, a suburb north of Harare.

“The act of dropping litter is a social behaviour that can only be remedied through social measures. There is still no enforcement and we need positive actions that can encourage people to dispose of their waste in a responsible way.

“Garbage collection is zero and this has compounded the negative attitudes of the people. We need to raise awareness of the problem that litter presents to create a better appreciation of the environment. We have to involve people more in developing local solutions.”

Concurred Harare city council spokesman Michael Chideme: “Behaviour change is a process and we are yet to see meaningful change. We only see enthusiasm by individuals, corporates, churches, schools and all other institutions on the actual day of cleaning and not any further.

“Cleaning should be an everyday exercise. Every resident should be a cleanliness ambassador. The major challenge is on the mindset and we need a national consensus to overcome this barrier. We need consensus as a nation about cleanliness and commonality of interest.”

Waste – liquid and solid is still a major problem across the country. Mini hills of untreated organic and inorganic waste can be found even outside high-end shopping malls, open spaces in residential areas, parks, on roads, land infills and in many facilities.

Piles of plastic, paper, bottles, fruit peels, and more accumulate every day on the side of the roads and buildings.

One of the many ways of tackling the litter challenge is to develop a greater sense of civic pride among citizens. Zimbabweans must take pride in their local environment. Community participation in the country-wide clean-up exercise will promote long-term positive change.

The clean-up campaign has raised awareness about the scale of the litter problem and has forced people to think about changing their behaviour.

In addition, the clean-up actions have also been an effective way to bring communities together by enhancing social bonds and make people more appreciative of their common environment.

Much has been achieved, and a lot more needs to be done.