Kasasiro Zaabu
Supporting effective waste management and business development in Kawempe, Kampala, Uganda.
Waste is gold
The communities of Kawempe, Kampala, face many challenges. Overcrowded living conditions, a lack of employment opportunities, and unhealthy levels of litter and solid waste in living quarters, streets and roads, are among the worst.
Just one-third of the 1,500 tonnes of garbage generated per day is collected, forcing the poorest families to dispose of their plastic and other solid waste into streams, open drainage channels, roadsides, and abandoned buildings. These unsanitary living conditions create the ideal breeding conditions for insects and contaminate water sources, placing communities at risk of water-borne diseases such as malaria, cholera, and typhoid.
To help tackle this problem, in 2020, Amref launched a new project - known as Kasasiro Zaabu, or "Waste is Gold" in Swahili - in Kawempe to support six community-based plastic recycling groups with the business training and capital they need to scale their operations. By supporting plastic recycling businesses to expand, the project aims to engage more community members in plastic recycling, improving sanitation and reducing hazardous waste for over 67,140 people living in Kawempe.
In total, 175 group business members were reached directly, and 150 people were trained as waste recovery agents to collect the plastics, set up local plastic collection points, and raise community awareness of the benefits of plastic recycling.
As well as providing a practical, environmentally friendly solution for the growing waste problem in Kawempe, the businesses will work in long term partnership with local authorities and the plastics industry to deliver lasting benefits for communities, creating new green job opportunities and healthier living conditions for the next generation.
We would like to thank our supporter to the project, without whom this work would not be possible.
Images © Watanda Ambrose.
"Life is going to change through this project."
Members of recycling groups in Kampala explain how Kasasiro Zaabu is transforming the way they work - and, by extension, their health.
