The former UNDP country representative, Ms Elsie Attafuah (wearing yellow hat) inspects the Takataka Plastics Ltd facility where plastic wastes are processed into tiles, in May 2021. PHOTO/TOBBIAS JOLLY OWINY
Gulu City has made great strides in managing plastic waste. However, the city authority has devoted much attention to plastic bottle waste while doing little to properly handle polythene bags (kaveera), medical waste and chemicals from saloons. Three years ago, the Gulu City administration launched a project to handle plastic waste.
Under the project, two plastic recycling facilities were established at Kaunda Grounds and Senior Quarters under a public-private partnership. Several points for collection of plastic wastes were across the city and transportation to the recycling facility provided under the extended producer responsibility (EPR). However, the plastic recycling firms concentrate more on plastic bottle waste, giving little attention to ubiquitous kaveera.
Mr Peter Okwokol, an environmentalist engaged in plastic waste recycling in the city, says that while about 75 percent of the plastic bottles are now collected for recycling, only 11 percent of kaveera is recycled.
As a result, the kaveera is recklessly discarded, polluting the environment. Some of this kaveera are deliberately throw into drainage canals by irresponsible locals while other inadvertently end up in the drainage canals after being discarded. This has led to clogging of both open and underground canals in the city. The problem is compounded by silting.
The affected canals are located on Gulu Avenue, Acholi Road, Ring Road, Queens Avenue, Coronation Road, Nero Road, Bank Lane, Jomo Kenyatta Road and Sir Samuel Baker Roads, among others. It is a common occurrence for water to burst out into the roads during downpours. Our analysis also established that saloon operators in Gulu Main Market, on Uliya Road, Awich Road, Labwor Road and Dr Corti Lucile Road dump chemicals they use into the drainage channels and these chemicals end up in water bodies, endangering the ecological system.
We found kaveera and plastic waste in Okuce stream, Lacor Parish, Bardege-Layibi Division. Drainage canals and tributaries that empty into Pece Stream are also polluted at Limu Cell in Holy Rosary Parish in Pece-Laroo Division and Go-down village in Layibi Parish, among others.
The polluted Pece Stream, then carries this garbage to Tochi River, further endangering the environment. We accessed the city’s waste management data between June 2021 and June 2024, which showed that Gulu City generated 67,090,600 kilogrammes of waste in Financial Year (FY) 2021/2022, 68,995,900 kilogrammes in FY2021/2022and 70,784,400 kilogrammes in FY2022/2023, and 2023/2024. In FY2023/24, Gulu City’s plastic waste stood at an average of 20 percent, comprising polythene bags, plastic bottles and fibres, among others. Of the generated wastes, plastics composed 13,418,130 kilogrammes, 13,799,190 kilogrammes and 14,156,890 kilogrammes respectively implying that each month, it averagely generated 1,118,200 kilogrammes, 1,149,900 kilogrammes, and 1,179,700 kilogrammes. Of the 1,179,700kg of monthly plastic waste averagely generated in 2023/2024, up to 45 percent was recycled whereas 17 percent found its way into waterways after being washed by rains, Ms Florence Okode, an environmental expert in Gulu City, explained. Polyethylene is the most produced and discarded synthetic polymer globally.
Medical waste Meanwhile, at Gowan’s Quarters Village in Bardege-Layibi Division, locals now choke on medical wastes drained into the open water channels from Gulu Independent Hospital, one of the biggest medical facilities in the city. The stream’s contamination by wastes from the hospital has not only posed a danger to the communities who tap the water for domestic purposes.
The contaminated water finds its way into Oyitino dam, the main water reservoir from where National Water and Sewerage Corporation (NWSC) draws water to feed the city. A close examination revealed the wastes to compose of sewage, food remains, used syringes, scalpels, among others. Mr Patrick Okot, a resident, said the hospital dumps its waste into the stream, putting lives at risk of potential poisoning and contact with contagious diseases. “We have tried to raise the issue to the authorities in vain.
The hospital is not only putting us neighbours at risk of contracting waterborne diseases but also the entire city because this waste is carried by rain and damped in the Oyitino dam which provides water for the people of the city,” Okot added. Mr Emmanuel Wasswa, a social scientist and a resident of Gowan’s Quarters Village, said the poor disposal of waste by the hospital has resulted in both water and air pollution.
“The horrific smell that comes from the hospital has made life very difficult for the people who stay around the hospital and within the stream as well,” he says. Mr Bosco Oloya, the Gulu Independent Hospital administrator, committed to cleaning the mess. “There has indeed been a spill of medical waste from the hospital to the stream but we as the administrators of the hospital are trying to handle it. We are going to start fixing it tomorrow, we want to ensure that all those wastes which you are seeing there, kaveera and so on are removed and that area is cleaned,” Mr Oloya explained.
