BY Fr. Frederick Waako
Having a history of being ranked among top clean towns in Uganda, Fort portal city is among the few strategic cities Selected by the government to foster development through tourism industry.
The double growing population and waste generation rates in Fort Portal, have however made Waste management a great Challenge over time. An inefficient municipal solid waste management negatively Impacts the environment and can result into infectious diseases, land and water pollution among others.
According to the Uganda Bureau of statistics (UBOS) report 2020, Fort Portal City
has a population at 60,800 persons who generate up to 89 tons of waste per day of which only 65% is collected and disposed due to resource limitations.
The major waste sources including markets, institutions, shops and households, and of this waste, Up to 80% is biodegradable.
The waste disposal sites used by the city in the past have been unsuitable, including one at Buhoiza central forest reserve at Booma – a residential area and Bukwali pit – in a grave yard currently used and Kiteere .
Residents within Fort Portal city, have time and again practiced Open dumping which is neither safe nor hygienic. It’s also no longer tenable in this city and other urban centers within the country.
Uganda, is among the several countries that signed the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC), making a commitment to combating Green House Gas (GHG)emissions. This protocol also put in place the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) to enable developed countries invest in projects that realize reduction in GHG emissions.
With an estimated generation of more than 70 tons of organic waste per day, the methane emissions for Fort Portal are quite significant.
Methane, which is the Main constituent of natural gas, constitutes 50% of Land Fill Gas (LFG) emissions. The other waste constituents include plastics and polyethene bags (4.85%), paper (2.55%), metal scrap (2.9%) and construction debris (13%).
The Ordinance to regulate garbage.
In 2021, Fort Portal city council passed a waste management ordinance to regulate garbage collection. This ordinance however followed the public outcry over increased garbage in the city.
According to this ordinance, all garbage collection is to be privatized to contractors who bear the responsibility of collecting garbage from the central and northern division. The contractors will be paid depending on the amount of garbage ferried to the landfill.
Under the same ordinance, anybody who dumps rubbish risks being prosecuted, fined or both.
Mr. Moses Otimong, the Town Clerk Fort Portal city, says that the ordinance was handed over to the ministry of Justice for it to be gazetted and approved in accordance with the available environmental laws. He says after the review and approval of this ordinance, officially then the masses will be sensitized on how it will be implemented.
According to him, Private entities should start registering for garbage collection, so that by the time the ordinance is in place, there is order already on who collects garbage and when.
Otimong, says that they are optimistic that the implementation of this ordinance will steer up the restoration of the once admired Fort Portal city.
