Luen Phiri

The Environmental Management Agency (EMA) has collaborated with City of Masvingo to launch the Zero Waste Management programme as part of efforts to clean up the environment, EnviroPress can report.

The programme was launched during a clean-up campaign on September 06 held the city, the aim being to address the city’s pressing waste management issues and promote sustainable practices.

Currently, Masvingo suffers poor service delivery; with many street corners in town not having something as basic as rubbish bins. Drainage systems are clogged, and water supply remains erratic.

The few public toilets available are hardly usable as they are never properly cleaned with disinfectants, and sanitary lanes behind buildings are laced with human faeces.

EMA Masvingo Provincial Education and Publicity Officer Munyaradzi Mtisi told EnviroPress that the Zero Waste Management intended to recycle as much waste so that less of it gets into the environment. This will be done by adding value to waste before reintroducing it to the production cycle to manage solid waste pollution and generate income at the same time.

He said that Zero Waste Management will be implemented in all districts of Masvingo province.

“Zero Waste Management is a concept of producing no waste. The production process generally involves extracting raw materials from the earth for processing into finished products. This process generates a lot of waste which ordinarily goes to dumpsites and landfills.

“With this initiative, however, we can generate some value using that waste for reintroduction into the production cycle so that nothing goes to the environment. This reintroduction of waste can be done through reusing the waste and recycling it so that nothing goes to the dumpsite or landfill,” said Mtisi.

Masvingo Mayor Aleck Tabe, who did not attend the event, latter told EnviroPress that the city had a zero tolerance to pollution, and the collaboration with EMA represented a significant step toward achieving a sustainable, zero-waste future.

“We have started on a programme to request for bins from stakeholders in the City to increase the city’s bin population. We also have a zero open defecation plan, and we are budgeting to install gates on sanitary lanes where open defecation is prevalent,” said Tabe.

If followed up to the end, the Masvingo Zero Waste Management initiative would represent a positive example for other cities in Zimbabwe and beyond.