Make profit , not a problem out of waste

MAKE PROFIT, NOT A PROBLEM – OUT OF WASTE

Swaziland Environment Authority has hosted a National Waste Indaba (discussion) for all the regions of Swaziland.  Mncedisi Masuku of the Diocese of Swaziland participated in this national event on behalf of the Church in the Hhohho Region.

The Indaba was meant for the public to discuss issues related to waste management under the theme, “Make profit out of waste not a  problem”. The minister of tourism and Environmental Affairs mentioned illegal dump sites, waste generation, water pollution, disposal of disposable nappies, plastics and disposal of hazardous waste as the national challenges on waste which the public had to discuss in the indaba (discussion).

The municipality council of Mbabane presented how they manage waste by encouraging people to recycle and make money out of waste and how costly it is to manage improperly disposed waste over recycling. Mbabane City has a population of 96 000 and it generates 38 tons of waste per day and the figures are increasing from day to day, increasing cost of waste management.

The public when making submissions from the round table discussions has stressed the importance of burning use of plastic bags in local shops, review of use and disposal of disposable nappies, strong fines on offenders of waste management regulations, community education among many solutions to this national problem.

The relationship between the Diocese of Swaziland and other organisations encouraging environmental protection as Swaziland Environment Authority (SEA) is getting stronger. The Diocese of Swaziland has done a lot with SEA such as clean-up campaigns, introductions of environmental curricular in pre-schools, environmental education to mention a few. The voice of the church on environmental protection is illuminated in the governments officials and nation wide.