The City of Harare has developed its integrated solid waste management strategic draft plan running from 2021 to 2036 to address challenges related to solid waste management. Various stakeholders met in Harare in September 2021, to review and finalise the plan. The plan has been developed at a time the city of Harare is facing serious challenges in solid waste management.

According to a document presented by Donald Sakupwanya, Harare City Council Cleansing Superintendent, the council is operating with an inadequate set of waste management equipment and provisions. Only 16 out of 32 trucks are operational against a rise in demand for refuse collection necessitated by rapid urban development. The existing refuse collection and transportation fleet is inadequate and old, meaning increased repairs and down time, which is also reported to contribute to the challenges. Harare has 15 compactors instead of the 40 compactors needed. It has no weigh bridge to establish waste quantities. The report says that Harare City’s incapacity is leading to irregular refuse collection. In addition, the city council is reported to be unable to adequately cover the whole city in its refuse collection services. Harare is still using a dumpsite in Pomona as its final waste disposal facility and there are frequent fire outbreaks at the site. A major fire outbreak was experienced in 2020 and it triggered the processes that led into the development of this integrated solid waste management plan.

It was also added that the current pricing model for refuse collection is such that ratepayers are not meeting the full cost of refuse collection services, creating a deficit and hampering effective and efficient refuse collection.

Other factors that are reported to work against efficient and effective waste management in Harare include the city predominantly using the refuse collection and disposal model where all the waste is collected, transported and disposed of. There is no fully fledged waste management department or vision in the council structures and therefore the council’s capacity to make informed decisions around solid waste management is limited. The report also states that there are no plans and systems to help the city council account for the waste generated within Harare and this undermines its ability to make informed decisions on waste management.

Waste management is being done by the Department of Works whose mandate goes beyond refuse collection, transport and disposal. Efforts have been made to set up two waste to energy plants utilising organic waste. Some material recovery is also taking place within Harare, but Harare City Council does not have a systematic account of waste management activities being undertaken by other stakeholders. This represents an opportunity for the council to improve the overall waste management within Harare through combined effort, synchronising activities and maximising the overall effectiveness of overall waste management efforts within Harare.

Traditional waste management systems consist of a simple process whereby the local authorities collect, transport and dispose of waste at selected waste disposal sites such as disused pits or on open ground. This method is not financially and environmentally sustainable. Many cities and towns especially in high-income countries, are reported to have since abandoned this model and have shifted to more efficient integrated solid waste management models. These models comprises of a set of waste treatment methods and strategies whose main objectives are to prevent, or reduce as much as possible, the generation of solid waste, diverting as much waste as possible from landfills and improving the efficiency in solid waste management.

Prevention and reduction of waste is primarily done at source. This is mainly at the production, packaging and consumption stages and can be achieved through sustainable production, packaging and consumption policies, strategies and activities. Continual monitoring and evaluation of policies and strategies implemented is key in ensuring achievement of an effective Integrated Solid Waste Management System (ISWM).

In Zimbabwe, the resort town of Kariba has developed a functional integrated solid waste management plan which the city of Harare is trying to emulate.

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