Clean Botswana
landfills as the major form of waste management. Most waste from Gaborone and the surrounding areas is sent to the Gamodubu landfill, 35km outside of Gaborone. Of the 74000 tonnes of waste that goes there, just about 1% is recycled. This number is abysmally low. If one takes into cognisance that at least 80% of the waste can be recycled and resold, then it is obvious Botswana is underperforming in this sphere. Despite this there is hope to turn things around, the key is to understand that there is not one solution but many.
Buy-Back Centres The first line of defense against waste would be to have buyback centres. These are enclosures that would be placed in neighbourhoods all over Botswana which would be outfitted with scales and giant bins. People in Botswana would be required to sort out their rubbish at source (i.e. at home) and drop it off at a buyback centre. We the recycling industry would then recruit the disadvantaged people who used to work in the city landfill to man the buyback centres; buying from them the sorted recycled material and assisting them with generating an income. This will help create employment for unemployed people. From a practical standpoint it would help the government to account for even more of the waste products generated. This is due to the fact that we the waste recycling industry would weigh the material that we get from the buyback centre as we buy it and keep records which would be forwarded to government’s waste management team. The problem at the moment would be zoning the land as there is a problem as to whose jurisdiction the open land spaces lie under the ministry of lands or city councils. As a way around this problem we worked with the Department of Waste Management and Pollution control to run a pilot programme of waste separation at source in 4 Gaborone schools. The pilot programme is complete and we have been given the green light, it is now a question of getting sponsorship for the waste separation units which cost around P38 000.00 for 9 per school. This would be advantageous for the schools as it would allow parents to drop off recyclables along with their children, the recyclers would then in turn pay the
schools for the waste. The schools could then use these funds to do with as they wish.
Transfer Station The second line of waste defense would be to construct a waste transfer station in the city of Gaborone. A waste transfer station is simply a building into which waste trucks come and dump their waste. The building is sealed therefore no noxious smells would emanate from it. This allows for the building to be built in an industrial site. The waste would be put on conveyor belts and workers would pick up the different lines of waste products and throw them into big bins allocated for each product; for example cans in this instance. When the giant bin is full they just call the recycler to come and pick up the waste and pay for it. A transfer station is crucial because in economic terms moving waste more than 15km becomes prohibitively expensive.
Manufacturing from waste As a way of boosting manufacturing, economic diversification, and job creation the private sector and government have to come up with waste manufacturing cottage industries. There are plenty of options here; tires can be manufactured into bitumen and sports fields. Plastic bottles can be made into fleece jackets and tracksuits. Old newspapers can be made into insulation for buildings and the list goes on. These products can be made for both local and export markets.
By Martin Dube Regional Manager COLLECT-A-CAN Botswana Tel: + 267 392 2717 Fax: +267 392 2717 Address: Plot No 14398 New Lobatse Road Gaborone West Email: martindube@info.bw Postal Address: P O Box 201175 Gaborone Botswana
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