Urban solid waste management is considered to be one of the most serious environmental problems confronting developing countries [Sinha and Enayetullah, 2000] and Jinja Town in Uganda is no exception. Economic implosion in Uganda has resulted in high levels of unemployment estimated at 80% [Kairiza, 2009]. This has led to the growth of home industries and high density suburbs. Solid waste generation in these suburbs is very high given their spatial extent and population. This is putting much pressure on the waste disposal system in place and as a result a lot of waste is left uncollected creating a health hazard.
WASTE MANAGEMENT
Waste management refers to the collection, transport, recovery, and disposal of waste, including the supervision of such operations and after-care of disposal sites. It concerns itself with the existing amount of waste, trying to minimize the human-waste or environment-waste interface and to minimize potential impact (Rushbrook, 1999).
Generally, in developing countries the population of people and urbanization rate is becoming high with East Africa and Uganda not an exception. Additionally, the urban dwellers consume more resources than rural people and hence generate large quantities of solid waste and sewage. Thus the problems and issues related to municipal solid waste management have been of immediate significance.
There are an estimated 5,700 to 11,300 waste-related jobs within the European. Up to 5,000 jobs may have been created in solid waste management in 1994 (Arnold, 1995). For the United Kingdom, if an ambitious but achievable recycling target of 70% for municipal waste was set and achieved by 2025, then conservative estimates suggest that across the UK this could create 29,400 new direct jobs in recycling, 14,700 indirect jobs in supply chains and 7,300 induced jobs in the wider economy relative to 2006.
Uganda is facing rapid urbanization of 5.1% per annum, leading to overcrowding and the development of slums and informal settlements with poor waste management practices. Urban dwellers generally consume more resources than rural dwellers, and so generate large quantities of solid waste and sewage. Waste management in these areas is hampered by multiple land tenure system with many tenants not having a right to the land and therefore not able to manage waste domestically and also the urban authorities are overwhelmed by the sheer volumes of garbage generated (Nyakaana, 2009). The increase in urban, economic and industrial activities, as well as the resultant population increase has led to an increase in the quantity of solid waste generated. One method employed in collecting data included field trips to dump sites which are used by the Kampala City Council (KCC) in Kampala.
Urban local government authorities in Uganda are responsible for solid waste management services. They however lack adequate infrastructure, operate in an insufficient institutional setup, and have limited financial and technical resources. Bisons Solid waste management company. steps in to bridge this gap by providing the following services which are customized to client’s specification and need; Commercial Waste Collection, Bisons provides collection, handling and transportation of waste for commercial clients. This ranges from: Industrial Waste Management, Radioactive waste management, Tar (from fuel processing, Nuclear Liability Management (NLM). The company also does domestic waste collection; the service includes door-to-door collection services, which involves removing refuse from household placed in bags or tied in bundles on a weekly basis, removal of illegal dumping, street cleaning and all efforts are undertaken to prevent illegal dumping through educational programmes and interaction with the community. House to house, one to one or community talks and workshops. Also waste from health care activities (radioactive waste); the waste produced in the course of health care activities carries a higher potential for infection and injury than any other types of waste. Inadequate handling and disposal of healthcare waste may have very serious public health care consequences and very significant impacts on environment (Nyakana, 2009).
Within the field of solid waste management, there has been considerable debate on the employment effects that may occur from shifts in policy. It has been argued that recycling and other solid waste management activities create employment, and in particular may provide initial routes into employment for the socially excluded or the low skilled. At the same time, the increased cost of solid waste management may lead to the loss of (potentially higher quality) jobs in other sectors of the economy (Zake, 2009). This study was commissioned in response to the above background, to establish the impact of solid waste management on employment creation.
URBANIZATION AND WASTE MANAGEMENT
Uganda is facing rapid urbanization of 5.1% per annum, leading to overcrowding and the development of slums and informal settlements with poor waste management practices. Urban dwellers generally consume more resources than rural dwellers, and so generate large quantities of solid waste and sewage (Tenywa, 2007). In Kampala, just like in most other urban centers in developing countries, material considered refuse by western standards is re¬used (Sharon, 1993; Douglas, 1986). For example, old tires are made into sandals (lugabire), old tin containers into paraffin candle holders (tadoba), plastic containers into feeding troughs for chicken and scrap metal is fabricated into household utensils like charcoal stoves (sigiri) metal doors and windows. Paper is recycled into toilet tissue and wrapping paper. In Kyebando (Kawempe Division), the Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA) began a project of recycling used paper to make envelopes and plain paper, and they design greeting cards in their appropriate technology program (Basemera, 1996). A lot of scrap metal is recycled industrially at the Jinja steel rolling mills and the Nakawa scrap metal facility. Today, green vegetable matter, like banana peels, pineapple and cabbage stamps, and food leftovers are collected to sell to farmers, especially those keeping pigs and cattle. This has created considerable employment opportunities for the young. Several companies such as Bisons Solid Waste Management Company and others have been put in place to collect waste and as a result people have been employed both educated and uneducated to ensure that the company activities are executed. Despite its existence, unemployment levels in Jinja Municipality still remain high.
