The vandalized Mbale City Garbage Recycling plant.
The multimillion Shillings garbage recycling plant in Mbale city is lying to waste after being vandalized by unknown people. Located in Doko Cell in Mbale City Industrial Division, the National Environment Management Authority-NEMA built the recycling plan in 2010 at over Shillings 600million from the World Bank.
However, Mbale City council authorities have abandoned the garbage recycling plant for the last two years giving chance to vandals to rob major equipment in the facility. The recycling plant is surrounded by bushes with garbage spilling over to Mbale-Tirinyi highway. The woes of the facility started in 2019 when a hailstorm blew the windows from the part of the building erected for sorting garbage.
The garbage sorters started working and took the comprising machine to the city council offices for safe custody. Dr. Moses Mugonyi, the Mbale City Health Officer, who is in charge of the garbage composite site, says that they are hunting for over 300 million Shillings to revamp the plant.
“After the windrows were blown off by the winds, some people started vandalizing the facility but we are trying to work on it. We estimate that we will need over Shillings 300 million to have it operational but right now council does not have that money,” he said.
According to Mugonyi, the breakdown of the facility has taken a huge toll on garbage collection within the city. Mbale City Council produces produces over 150 tonnes of waste per day. “Without a composite recycling plant, collection and disposal of this garbage has become a problem to the city authorities, which has led to an increase of garbage on major streets of the town,” he said.
Rodha Nyaribi, the Mbale City Environment Officer, says that the composite site would recycle at least 30 tonnes of garbage every day and they would earn over Shillings 3 million as local revenue per month after selling manure produced from the composite garbage.
Isma Walujo Mukankadi, the Mbale City Works Secretary, says that they have tried to intervene in the repair of the recycling machine but they failed to understand who between the Health and Environment officer is in charge of garbage management.
The Mbale City Deputy Speaker, Abdallah Magambo, says as new leaders, they are saddened by the breakdown of the recycling plant. He said that part of the composite site land has been encroached on, adding that the city is losing lots of local revenue that they would have gotten from selling composite manure.
Mbale City Mayor Cassim Namugali, says that there was mismanagement of the facility leading to its abandonment, adding that the purpose of the plant was to produce manure and generate local revenue for the city, which was never realized.
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