03 Jun 2021

 Treating waste as a valuable resource will not only lead to improved environmental aesthetics but also has significant economic benefits, says Minister of Environment, Natural Resources, Conservation and Tourism Ms Philda Kereng.

 Officiating at the launch of a  waste recovery pilot project in Gaborone yesterday,  she said it would provide opportunities for waste-based enterprises which would ultimately improve livelihoods of local communities.

 Currently confined to some Government Enclave situated ministries, the P500 000 UNDP supported project commenced with the Department of Environmental Affairs last December.

 Ms Kereng said its aim was  to create awareness on sustainable waste management practices, encourage segregation at source, foster public and private sector collaboration on waste management and create employment as well as develop  a strong waste recycling industry in the country.

  Saying Batswana needed to be empowered to derive benefits from the waste sector, the minister said the integrated waste management policy approved in April could therefore not have come at a better time.

  Currently waste recovery in the country was limited to waste paper, bottles, plastics and scrap metal hence the initiative in ministries and parastatals to derive value from waste. 

“The success of this pilot project will lead to rollout to other institutions in our districts, town and cities to make this a national programme,” she said. 

She said the ministry’s priority was to illustrate the interrelatedness of waste management with developmental needs and to harmonise them in the formulation and implementation of national development plans to ensure certainty and consistency. 

That, she said, would be in line with the transformational agenda to promote innovative research that interfaced science-based and indigenous knowledge in waste management. 

UNDP representative, Ms Chimbidzani Bratonzil expressed her organisation’s delight at the launch which she said was a prelude to World Environment Day commemoration on June 5. 

She said the waste segregation study was supported under the UNDP Environment and Climate Change Portfolio.

The aim was to support government to realise its national priorities in environmental management, particularly managing trade-off between income generation and environmental sustainability, she explained. 

Ms Bratonzil said waste separation at source was a key component in concerted efforts to segregate landfill waste and to maximise recovery of recyclables. 

“Having the pilot done in government offices is a good indication of the level of commitment by government to separate waste, to reuse and recycle waste, to recognise that there is value in waste management, ultimately, to preserve the environment,” she said. 

Attendants included makers of recyclabale waste products.  ends