MAKERERE UNIVERSITY

COLLEGE OF EDUCATION AND EXTERNAL STUDIES

SCHOOL OF DISTANCE AND LIFELONG LEARNING
INSTITUTE OF OPEN, DISTANCE & E-LEARNING
A CONCEPT NOTE ON PROPER WASTE MANAGEMENT IN KIRA
MUNICIPALITY WAKISO DISTRICT.

STUDENT NAME: MUWEMBE PIUS

REGISTRATION NUMBER: 18/U/40957/EXT
TELEPHONE NO: 0756604781
PROPOSED FOCUS AREA: KIRA MUNICIPALITY
COURSE NAME: B. ED(EXTERNAL)
COURSE: METHODS CONCEPT PAPER
LECTURER: PROFESSOR JESSICA N AGUTI
YEAR: THREE
SEMESTER: ONE
BACKGROUND
Urbanization, population growth and economic development are considered the main
driving forces of solid waste management issues in Kira municipality. These factors all
together influence consumption rates that lead to accelerate waste generation and
change waste components. The United Nations Economic and Social Commission in Asia
and the Pacific (UNESCAP) reported that the solid waste in the least developed and low
income developing countries is characterized by high organic content ranging from 70 to
80 percent of the total waste generation. This figure shows a bright prospect to
introduce recycling methods to minimize waste generation however many of local
government areas remain practicing traditional solid waste management that focuses
on solutions that are often very costly. People across the society purchase, use and
dispose a huge variety of products which makes our lives easier and more comfortable.
However, the result of this is a massive damage to our environment. Very little it may
seem, especially when compared to the power of governments and huge industrial
companies however, working together with people in our community we can influence
and change policies which are destroying our environment or we can make a plan to
protect our environment without being against to the policies and laws given by the
higher authority. Garbage is one of the major problems here in our country, because it
causes many harmful effects. Proper garbage collection is really a must especially in Kira
because as we all know, our country has started disposing several products and recycles
fewer products and that means all trash should be collected immediately since it comes
right away. We cannot stop having garbage in our daily life, we can’t can avoid it but we
can organize it so that it will not be a burden to each and every one of us. But
unfortunately in Kira, proper waste collection is not being implemented.

LITERATURE REVIEW
In recent years fast population growth, increase in urbanization and industrialization in
Kira has created severe problems for solid waste management. Waste is a dynamic
concept which can be defined in different ways (Pongrácz, 2009:93).
UNEP defined wastes as substances or objects, which are disposed off or are intended to
be disposed of or are required to be disposed off by the provisions of national law.
Waste also refers to “an item, material or substance you as an individual consider
useless at a given time and place” (Mugambwa, 2009:1). Cointreau-Levine and Coad
(2000:4) take municipal waste to refer “to wastes from domestic, Commercial,
institutional, municipal and industrial sources, but excluding excreta, except when it is
mixed with solid waste”. It is however necessary to note that in developing countries,
money at times, it becomes difficult or even impractical to put a line between excreta
and solid waste. In many instances, solid waste mixes with excreta to the extent of being
potentially hazardous to human health. The increased level of consumption
characteristics of the population of cities lead to generation of enormous quantities of
solid waste material. The impacts of such pollution are felt both at local, as well as at
distances from sources. Domestic and industrial discharges lead to contamination of air,
eutrophication with nutrient and toxic materials which in turn lead to degradation of air,
land and affect flora and fauna baldly. Since older times municipal bodies remained
responsible for keeping the roads clean, collect municipal garbage and to carry out its
safe disposal. Many estimates of solid waste generation are available but on the average
it is projected that under Ugandan conditions the amount of waste generated per
municipality will rise at 1-1.3% annually (Shekdar 1999). So, at present if we fall this
presumption the calculated per municipal waste generation on a daily basis is 583.36 g
 in 2016. At such a stage solid waste generation will have significant impact in terms of
land required for disposal of wastes as well as methane emission. Such a large quantity
of solid waste requires well managed system of collection, transportation and disposal
along with recycling and energy generation potential. The traditional routine approach
to solid waste management is normally municipal bodies handle all aspects of collection,
transport and disposal and this has emerged as a variety of mixed success all over the
world in advanced or developing cities. The search for more efficient and economical
solid waste collection agenda in most of the urban areas has taken shape adopting
several directions towards better partnership with communities along with private
sector combining adequate economic policies.
Cities have a wide variety of arrangement under their control to lessen environment
burdens. Legal approach and restrictions on the quantity of pollutants a factory can
discharge of minimum air and water quality standards are being particularly proved
effective in monitoring pollution in many parts of the globe. The efficiency depends
mainly on good enforcement capacities and proper monitoring procedures where urban
growth pressures and pollution issues are far greater.
PROBLEM STATEMENT

Currently in Uganda, there is a general problem of youth unemployment which is partly

due to lack of job opportunities, lack of career guidance as well as limited skills required
to create their own jobs.
According to the Uganda bureau of statistics, Unemployment Rate in Uganda increased
to 1.80 percent in 2019 from 1.70 percent in 2018.
Therefore, basing on this problem which focuses on waste management (recycling),
more than 10 companies in Uganda have already expressed interests in reusing waste to
save the environment for example Aqua coolers Ltd., Delight (U) Ltd, Hema Beverages
Ltd, House of Eden (U) Ltd (Azur balanced Water) among others. Several cooperatives
aiming at skilling youths and children in craft making such as paper bags using recyclable
materials have been started in large numbers.
To encourage the development of an economic market for recycling, NEMA supported
the creation of a national recycling economic information project (NREIP). This concept
is a ground breaking national study demonstrating the economic value of waste
management recycling and reuse to Uganda’s economy. This study will confirm what
many have been yearning to known for decades that in Uganda, there are significant
economic benefits in proper waste management.
OBJECTIVES
The purpose of the research will be to asses the current practices and state of solid waste
management systems in Kira, identifying main issues and problems to its ineffectiveness,
inefficiency and to gain some suggestions and recommendations to improve the SWM
infrastructure and practices in Kira.
The proposed investigations shall have the following objectives of the study for proper
management of municipal waste in Kira.
 To estimate quantum and prevailing treatment practices of municipal solid waste in Kira.
 To analyze various properties and environmental impact of municipal solid waste in Kira.
 To develop strategies for suitable collection, segregation, recycling treatment methods for
municipal solid waste in Kira.
 To assess the use of municipal solid waste through eco-friendly methods and application of
municipal solid waste for different uses in Kira.
 To develop strategy for mitigation of carbon dioxide potential through municipal solid waste
disposal methods with the updates data in Kira

 To develop an avenue for the technological and hygienic interventions with respect to
the solid wastes generated in Kira.
 To introduce a recycling plant so that the littered garbage can be put into use by getting
other products out of it.
 To discuss policy measures that can be adopted by the garbage collection to manage
waste.
 To discuss the environmental hazards and impacts of dumping waste unethically.
 To provide hands on operations that can be adopted at house hold level to manage the
solid waste.
 To propose the latest technological advancements in terms of equipment and
machinery that can be used for solid waste management.

METHODOLOGY

 Field trips. It consists of having a planned visit to points of interest within the
municipality such as factories and other manufacturing plants.
 Project method. I shall engage the participants in the research process to make simple
waste management and recycling projects where they will be expected to accomplish a
definite, attractive and seemingly attainable goal.
 Practical approach of teaching which will involve a lot of hands on activities about waste
management.
 The study will involve door to door survey of waste management practices in Kira
municipality.

RESEARCH QUESTIONS
 The following research questions linked to the objectives will guide me during the
research process.
 What are the planning, organizing tools and practices which are in Kira Municipality as
far as waste management is concerned?
 What are the leading and controlling practices in waste management in Kira
municipality?
 What are the possible mechanisms in place of improving waste management in Kira
municipality?

References
 Rubin H, Narkis N, Carberry J (1998) soil and aquifer pollution: non-aqueous phase
liquids-contamination. Springer, Berlin.
 Berger, I.E. The demographics of recycling and the structure of environmental behavior.
Environ.Behav.1997,29, 515-531 (Google scholar)
 De Young, R. Exploring the difference between recyclers and non-recyclers: the role of
information, J. Environ.Syst.1988,18,341-351 (Google scholar)
 Timlett, R.E Williams, I.D Public participation and recycling performance in England: a
comparison of tools fro behavior change. Resour. Conserv.Recycl.2008,52,622-634
(Google scholar)
 Cointrea-Levine and Coad 2004
 Internet www.edglossary.org/assessment
 Municipal solid waste USA environmental protection agency, March 29, 2016.
 Recycling by Eleanor J.Hall.Kidhaven,2004
 Recycling by Charlotte Wilcox. Lerner publishing, 2008
 Natural capitalism: the next industrial revolution by Hawken, Lovins. Earthscan, 2010
page, 51 which bases its analysis on our ecological foot print by Wackernagel and Rees.
New society, 1996
 Pongracz, 2009:93
 Municipal solid waste management (Shekdar 1999)
 Urban solid waste management (Shekdar 2016)
