THE MATEBELELAND Institute for Human Rights (MIHR) has called for the integration of waste collectors in national and local authority policies and environmental action plans.
In an interview with Southern Eye, the MIHR co-ordinator Khumbulani Maphosa said waste collectors were being left out of national and local policies.
Calling for enactment of policies at national and local levels to integrate waste collectors, he said: “We recognise the important role of waste collectors in solid waste management and climate change mitigation strategies.
“We don’t have national and local policies that promote the enterprise of waste pickers, action must be taken to ensure that waste pickers are integrated into these policies.”
He said national environmental action plans should be designed in ways that incorporate waste collectors.
“Our government has shown us that it normally gives preference to recyclers, while overlooking waste pickers. But that does not make sense because these waste collectors are the input providers of waste. They must be integrated into these policies because they are important,” he said.
He also revealed that Bulawayo had more than 200 waste pickers who collect tonnes of waste from illegal dumpsites in and around the city every month.
Maphosa said local authorities should revise their policies and ensure that they recognise waste pickers.
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“When waste collectors are incorporated into these policies, you will see that waste in the landfill sites will be properly managed and it will lead to less pollution to the environment,” he said.
Recently, MIHR revealed that Bulawayo waste collectors were risking their lives when they collect and store waste at their homes.
It said keeping waste in their homes posed health and safety challenges for them and their families because the heaps of waste become breeding spaces for rodents, flies, cockroaches and snakes.
