Public Garbage bins bukavu

Waste collection

waste processing

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The city of Bukavu is in a sanitation crisis. Once named for its green hills, the city is now littered with hills of waste. When we began activities, there were two public garbage bins in the city. Waste collection services in most neighborhoods is slow, unreliable, and inefficient. Although most waste generated here is organic, no sorting of garbage prior to collection was taking place. Landfills are saturated, with often inaccessible roads in the rainy season. People in the community are tired of living surrounded by these conditions, and want to do something about it.

1.

Public Garbage Bins Bukavu: We have established 10 sites of paired nonorganic and organic public garbage bins. We are the first organization to successfully place and maintain public garbage bins in the city, and we have done so by involving the community in all aspects of management of this project. We have been doing community health education which has resulted in increased sorting of waste at the site of the bins. We also have been cleaning streets and clearing drainage ditches to minimize obstruction and stagnation of water that contributes to malaria and flooding.

2.

Waste Management and Collection: We have partnered with the Office of the Mayor of Bukavu and obtained authorization to work in the city of Bukavu. We are beginning a pilot program of waste management and sorting at the household level, and waste collection for households and businesses as well as evacuation of public garbage bins. The project also includes community environmental health education.

3.

Waste Processing: WA-Kongo has two sites for waste processing just outside the city of Bukavu. We will be piloting a composting program to transform organic waste from the city into compost to enrich the surrounding agricultural economy including food and coffee production.