NMG, environmentalists push for better waste management

Environmentalists are pushing for a circular economy that minimises dumping of waste that harms the environment.

The revelation was made yesterday during the Uganda Environment Forum under the theme: “Enabling Uganda’s transition to a circular economy”, where Nation Media Group (NMG) has partnered with Uganda Breweries Limited, Atacama Consulting, National Environmental Management Authority (Nema) and Zero Waste Africa.

A circular economy, according to Mr Eugene Muramira, a resource and environmental economist, is one which emphasises that every stage of production, be it raw materials, finished products or transportation, there is sharing of resources, reusing, repair, refurbishing and recycling of products.

“In a circular economy, we use less materials and produce less waste products which is good for our environment and natural resources because we are taking in less,” Mr Muramira said.

He noted that for Uganda to transition into the circular economy, there is need for mindset change among the masses and policy reforms that allow this kind of economy to thrive.

“There is a lot of association of circular model with the ability to own things, which is wrong. As a country, let us do research to find things that can be reused to foster reuse or recycling because the market gives us Chinese things that don’t last long. So, there should be policies that stop these products from coming into the country,” he said.

Mr Sam Barata, the NMG-Uganda general manager-commercial, who represented the NMG-Uganda Managing Director, Ms Suzan Nsibirwa, said as the company, they “believe and it is evident that our environment is under threat and it is beginning to affect each and every aspect of our lives. It is, therefore, critical that we must all address and find solutions”.

He said everyone has a duty to rescue humanity.

“That is why we are engaging in such activities because the core of all these is that there is risk not only to the environment but also to humanity,” Mr Barata said.

He added: “Our aim is to provide a platform to discuss and implement sustainable ways of managing, conserving and saving what we have in our environment. This requires input from all of us so that we are able to transition from a linear economy to a circular economy in planning to change how we work, think and do other things, which is why we come in as NMG.”

Mr Akankwansa Barirega, the executive director of Nema, said as the country goes into the next industrial revolution, it should look at modifying waste.

“We call it waste because of lack of knowledge. The waste can be refined and reused and also sent back as resources in making more things. It should be transformed from one use to another,” Mr Barirega said.

He added that there is need to devise mechanisms to continue using the same resources given the growing population.

“We should create products that are durable and repairable to transition into a circular economy, designed for longevity and designability, for improved social wellbeing,” he said. 

The Minister of Water and Environment, Mr Sam Mangusho Cheptoris, emphasised sensitisation of masses as a measure to foster this kind of change

“It is important to sensitise masses and the manufacturers to realise that we cannot continue producing single-used plastics that are all over in our environment,” Mr Cheptoris said. 

He added: “Single-use plastics should be completely banned because these are the ones that are destroying our environment. However, any other plastics should be handled carefully. It is possible to do away with plastics because before they came, Ugandans used to use glass bottles. So, we can go back and use products that can be used for a long time.”