Harare Residents Forced To Live With Rot As Council Turns Deaf Ear On Garbage

By Ndatenda Njanike (Press and Communications Officer)

MOST people in Harare have learned to live with Garbage as the council has failed to collect waste from suburbs and the Central Business District (CBD).

The once magnificent  capital now lays masses of uncollected waste in the CBD and the council seems to ignore this ticking health-threatening time bomb.

This week Advocates4Earth toured suburbs in Harare and the CBD and witnessed the high level of Plastic Pollution in the city.

With the Country having nearly 20 Acts and nearly 40 statutory laws in place to protect the country’s environment, it is shocking to see the amount of waste on roadsides and public places.

The month of March sees the African Continent celebrate Africa Environmental Day which is held on the 3rd  and this year will focus on Solutions to plastic pollution.

According to Geneva Environmental Network:

“More than 400 million tonnes of plastic is produced every year worldwide, half of which is designed to be used only once. Of that, less than 10 percent is recycled.

 “An estimated 19-23 million tonnes end up in lakes, rivers, and seas annually.

Microplastics – tiny plastic particles up to 5mm in diameter – find their way into food, water, and air. It is estimated that each person on the planet consumes more than 50,000 plastic particles per year –and many more if inhalation is considered.

“Discarded or burnt single-use plastic harms human health and biodiversity and pollutes every ecosystem from mountain tops to the ocean floor.

“With available science and solutions to tackle the problem, governments, companies, and other stakeholders must scale up and speed actions to solve this crisis.

“This underscores the importance of this World Environment Day in mobilizing transformative action from every corner of the world.” Wrote the network.

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