Practioners Waste Management Request

Despite initiatives by the Tanzanian government to control the problem of solid waste, the problem stays a threat to the coastal population, marine and coastal environment. Both financial and technical interventions are required for provision of appropriate technologies, institutional capacity building and strengthening and human resources development.

The challenge is, with increased urbanisation (current population is estimated at 4.10m people, with solid waste generation amounting to 3100 Tonnes/ Day while the amount being properly collected and disposed off is 1200 Tonnes/ Day (39%). Makoba (2008, p. 14) points out a current population growth rate of 4.9% per annum for the city of Dar es Salaam. This means there is an increased population and undoubtedly increased rate of solid-waste generation and the DCC is bound to come up with effective strategies for managing the solid wastes, if the solutions are to be sustainable. 

 

Moreover, the recently closed dumpsite at Mtoni along the seashore largely impacts the coastal ecosystem in the sense that leachate spills off into the ocean, bioaccumulation through heavy metal impacts into the ocean and its ecosystem particularly fish which people consume and insufficient sunlight that impacts the marine biodiversity. The impacts are many include dirtying the ocean water towards inner-ocean by the solid waste and by leachate dripping-offfrom decomposing waste and scavengers; all these changing the coastal ecosystem.

 

The goal of this study was to improve solid waste management and reduce pollution in order to protect human health as well as to enhance the quality of the coastal and marine environment in Dar es Salaam. The focus was on privatization and refuse collection charges.

 

Findings showed that the collection of solid waste in Dar es Salaam has been hampered partly by poor infrastructure and equipment, management arrangements which have not adequately coordinated the interventions of the different actors before and after decentralization of the collection service, inefficient collection and management of the refuse collection charges, designing fault with solid waste collection point, lack of a proper landfill, among others.

 

Recommendations emphasise on awareness campaigning at all levels of the system, to educate residents on the necessity of cost sharing for services and threats associated with improper disposal of solid waste. Others are promoting political will across all leadership levels, adopting a two level contractors’ structure and increasing the solid waste contracts to 5 years, redesign the primary waste collection points and the Dar es Salaam City Council to put in place strategies for obtaining an engineered landfill site since this is a guarantee for final disposal of solid waste in a secure manner by minimizing the impacts on the environment.