THE tenacity of garbage collection is to identify and discard objects that are no longer needed and keep environments clean and free from diseases.
Apart from that, waste collection is part of the process of waste management which all residents should adhere to for obvious reasons.
Garbage collection works by employing several measures, including machines and human beings to reclaim heaps of objects which are eligible for garbage collection.
It is also well known that dumping waste into the water system or drainages as the case appears fashionable in most of Zambian towns and cities have environmental and health costs.
So the residents of Lusaka’s Lilanda compound’s appeal to government to sensitize the people not only in that comp0ound on the importance of subscribing to Community Based Enterprise (CBEs) as opposed to throwing garbage in drainages especially when it rains is extremely important.
The residents have complained that some people in the area have a bad habit of failing to subscribe to the CBEs in the area and looked forward to the rains so that they would throw solid waste in the drainages to let water push away the garbage from their homes.
Unfortunately this is true in many compounds of Lusaka simply because people do not care at all.
One of the concerned residents, Lucy Chanda, says it is rather unfortunate that some people are failing to manage their own solid waste they accumulate in their homes and opt to throw it in the drainages posing a serious health hazard.
“Some residents have a bad habit of refusing to pay garbage collection fees of K5 ; they say the charge is too much and they take advantage of the rains so that the garbage is pushed with the rainy water. God sees from up there.
“It’s sad to note that some people keep trash in their home waiting for the rains, posing a serious health hazard and blocking drainages and most of the things that are found are diapers and left over nshima among others,” Ms Chanda said
She correctly says when the rain season is over some residents develop a habit of throwing garbage in the streets at night which was bad, adding that there is need for people to take full responsibility for their own action and not putting more work to the Lusaka City Council.
Needless to say that garbage pollution is the main reason for various bacterial diseases such as gastrointestinal, stomach pain, vomiting and diarrhea, cholera, typhoid, malaria, skin diseases and respiratory allergies.
That aside uncollected or not properly managed garbage can emit odor which can have other effects on people’s health by causing shortness of breath, headaches, eye irritation, or, if large amounts are inhaled, even death.
People therefore need to know that the threat of waste to the environment, health and safety is always huge, and so are the financial and social ramifications.
Pollution runs into rivers and seeps into ground water. Flooding is caused by garbage clogging drains, and the atmosphere can be poisoned by the toxic discharge from trash.
So it is only fair that people are given the right education on waste management to prevent the penalties that come with uncollected garbage or clogged drainages.
