By Patricia Namwanga Kizito.
About Project Kollekt.
Through the Project Kollekt initiative, End Plastic Pollution – Uganda in partnership with the Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives and Break Free from Plastic has established The Kollekt Village in Masuulita Town, Wakiso District as a center to demonstrate, promote and mainstream zero waste model implementation in Local communities.
The Kollekt Village has been developed with facilities including:
– A material recovery facility for waste handling with a demonstration space and chambers for separating plastic waste by types and content.
– A plastic waste recovery program involving waste pickers with a facility to collect, sort and store recovered materials.
– A space provided for local waste pickers to involve in the zero-waste model implementation.
– A community gathering space for meeting, training, and sensitization of waste pickers so as to support and empower them to organize. A space for organic waste management with compositing chambers. The space ran onsite projects including Compositing, Black Soldier Flies farming, gardening / vertical farming demonstration and a program for small holder farmers to learn about compositing, organic farming and making organic fertilizers.
In addition to the Material Recovery Facility, The Kollekt Village features spaces for:
– Community gathering, meetings and a training center.
– A space has been provided to establish a reuse and refill shop for locals, youth and women groups as well as local artisans to showcase their materials.
– A library, resources and learning center to be stocked with reading materials, educational materials, Research works on different environmental issues and materials on zero waste.
Why the waste sector.
The waste sector offers a prime opportunity for countries like Uganda to take action that can protect the environment, reduce polluted waste, reduce emissions, strengthen climate resilience systems, provide substantial health and unlock economic benefits. With the zero waste approach, local communities are put at the center of action to address the impact of poor waste management. The zero waste policy is not about stopping the waste coming into the community only, but also about building up local communities and creating jobs that can enable them to thrive.
Why Go for Zero Waste; what is the expected impact.
With the zero-waste approach, End Plastic Pollution seeks to address issues including poor waste management, climate crisis, agriculture and food security, biodiversity loss, livelihood improvement and deliver economic development. There will be increased awareness and sensitization and education initiatives to equip youth, waste pickers and local leaders with practical knowledge to implement and develop zero waste models for their communities.
The mitigation potential of the waste management sector is largely underestimated. Yet curbing waste generation and implementation of better waste management strategies avoids emissions throughout the lifecycle of material goods – from extraction to end of life. Zero waste systems have been proven versatile strategies that aim to continually reduce waste through – source reduction, separate collection, composting and recycling.
Why zero waste intervention is crucial for combating climate change.
Through the zero waste approach communities can build resilience to climate change impacts like flooding, deter disease transmission, improve soil health, and deliver economic opportunities. The waste sector has been identified as one of the contributors to the 9.1 million tonnes greenhouse gasses from Greater Kampala Metropolitan Area reported as of 2020 with an exponential growth rate of 55% from 2020 – 2030 reaching 14.6 million tons of carbon. The project seeks to address the issue of poor solid waste management practices which was identified by the Uganda government as one of the lead drivers of climate change vulnerability.
As the climate crisis deepens urgent action on all fronts is required to both eliminate greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to a rapidly changing climate.
- For Climate Mitigation.
Zero waste systems contribute to greenhouse gas emissions reductions in 3 ways: source reduction, materials separation, collection and proper management / recovery of plastic waste and organic waste to avoid landfill methane emissions. - For Climate Adaptation.
Zero waste systems help communities to build resilience against the increasingly frequent extreme weather events and health hazards brought by climate change. Poor waste collection and management are among the factors that leave communities particularly exposed to these events.
With zero waste systems local communities can become more resilient by mitigating floods, reducing disease transmission, and improving soil, water and air quality.
