World Environment Day at The RSCE

By Mark Kaheru, Public Information Officer, RSCE

“Moving forward, we need to do some self-reflection on how much plastic we are individually contributing to our environment.”

That was the message Ms. Nalini Contreras, Deputy Director a.i. Regional Service Centre Entebbe (RSCE) delivered during the World Environment Day celebrations on 8 June 2023 where she called on staff at the RSCE to join in the global call to #BeatPlastiCPollution.

She advised us to say no to using plastic straws, carry our own reusable water bottle, use designated reusable and preferrable cloth bags for shopping and carrying a coffee mug to get our java refill instead of the disposable ones offered at the cafeteria.

The theme for 2023 focusses on solutions to beat plastic pollution.

In her address, she posed a few questions that many of us could not answer. An example of which was if we knew where the toothbrushes we used 5 years ago were. Well, they could be in a landfill somewhere or in a water body choking the planet.

Statistics show that every year, the world produces more than 400 million tons of plastic and yet half are designed to be used only once. According to statistics from Uganda’s National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) the country generates 600 tons of plastics daily but only 40% is collected and disposed of properly.

There is some hope however, in the field of plastic recycling.

EcoBrixs, an organization based in Masaka District of Uganda, is actively involved in the effort to beat plastic pollution. The organization works with the local community to collect plastics and sell to them and in turn they turn the plastic waste into useful everyday items like buttons, clothes pegs and even structural beams for construction.

Dan Kayemba from EcoBrixs gave a brief history of plastic which he said came as a savior to the world many years ago but which is now one of our biggest threats to the environment.

“Did you know that it takes 500 years for plastics to start to degrade in the environment?” he asked.

500 years!! To start degrading!! Consider the world life expectancy is 73.16 years, the toothbrush I discard today will start decomposing in 7 generations… the day my great-great-great-greatgreat-great-great-grandson will be born. I will be long forgotten yet my toothbrush will still be here choking the planet.

That is one statistic that should always be in our minds whenever we see a single-use plastic.

This does not mean we should stop brushing our teeth neither does it mean we should never use plastic. It just means we should be more mindful on how we use plastic.

EcoBrixs is trying to rid the environment of plastic waste. EcoBrixs circular system, based on the idea of purchasing plastic from the community and recycling all waste into new products, allows them to recycle huge volumes of plastic and create thousands of green jobs for the community.

Since 2017, they have recycled 1,000 tonnes of plastic waste that they have collected from the community and from Lake Victoria. The AIDS Support Organization TASO Entebbe is also making an effort to clean up the plastics and they made a presentation on how they are reusing plastics to make items like.

During the event, staff were taken through a dance expression presentation by Theresa Aciro on the proper disposal of waste with an emphasis on waste segregation bins and staff joined into a singalong led by Eusmenio Dos Santos on the Guitar.

Micah Emeru, Environment Focal Point at the RSCE encouraged staff to make a commitment to the environment with an emphasis on the theme “We at the RSCE, live and work in Uganda, a country rich with plant, marine and animal wildlife. We need to ask ourselves “how are we contributing to the preservation of our world? How are we preparing our world for the next generations to come?”

Led by Ms. Contreras and the representatives from EcoBrixs, staff also signed a commitment board where we made a pledge to beat plastic pollution by reducing their use of single-use plastics. Those that have not and want to make the pledge, please come by building 3, 1st floor and append your signature and together we will #BeatPlasticPollution.