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Managing plastic waste in agriculture and the environment
Bishop Severus Jumba (left) and Mr Francis Sematimba (right), the head teacher of St Maria Goreth Primary School in Masaka City discuss some of the artificial fruits made out of plastic waste to serve as teaching aids. PHOTO/MICHAEL J SSALI
What you need to know:
- Poor waste disposal, especially plastics, has been cited as a cause of massive flooding in some of our cities due to blocked water pipes and drainage channels.
- When plastic containers are driven into swamps, they poison aquatic life. Some of the poison is carried in the run-off water and taken up by the vegetables and other food crops.
It is not easy to avoid plastic tools and other utilities in modern farming. The spray pumps, water pipes, water containers and tanks, agrochemical bags, and a whole range of other equipment that we use in the different farming activities are made of plastic.
Empty mineral water bottles are reused for drip irrigation and polythene sheets are useful in coffee nursery beds.
Herbicides, pesticides, and acaricides are sold to farmers in plastic containers.
Plastics are unavoidable in urban farming as people are encouraged to grow their vegetables in soil packed in improvised plastic containers on the verandas of their houses and in the backyards.
However, what we do with empty plastic containers and the damaged, unwanted, plastic materials is today a very big environmental problem that has been linked to wetland degradation, alteration of soil structure, and negative impact on plant growth.
Poor waste disposal has also been cited as a cause of massive flooding in some of our cities due to blocked water pipes and drainage channels.
Dr Eseri Nankya, a soil scientist and researcher in the National Agricultural Research Organisation (Naro), says everybody should be part of what she refers to as “the Three Rs Effort,” which are: Recycle, Reuse, and Reduce.
She says everybody should take responsibility for collecting plastic rubbish from the environment because it is hazardous if not handled well.
“In Uganda, we are still far behind other countries in waste management. You will notice that in nearly all our towns, there is only one rubbish skip in a place where the public is expected to throw garbage without providing sections for the different types of waste.”
“There ought to be waste categorisation. Some waste is plastic or metallic and not degradable, while some waste is organic and biodegradable. This creates a problem for garbage collectors to sort it out to reuse or recycle the waste and turn it into any useful product. Some of the waste can be turned into organic manure, which is a valuable resource,” she adds.
Contamination
She says some empty plastic containers are contaminated with dangerous substances like mercury and lead, which can get into the food chain and cause health hazards. She further revealed that when such plastic containers are driven into swamps, they poison aquatic life. Some of the poison is carried in the run-off water and taken up by the vegetables and other food crops.
“Plastic pieces buried in the soil impede plant root development and nutrient intake, which negatively impacts crop production,” Dr Nankya says. She warns the public to take care when burning plastic waste because the fumes are also a health risk.
“When a poisonous substance is burnt, you cannot be sure of the safety of its smoke when inhaled. The smoke in most cases contains carbon dioxide, which is a greenhouse gas responsible for climate change,” Dr Nankya says. She advises members of the public to begin taking their own containers, such as shopping baskets when they go shopping to avoid putting their purchased items into polythene bags. The polythene bags taken to our homes every now and again from the shops end up becoming an environmental problem.
Recycling and reuse
There are companies and organisations that collect non-degradable waste for recycling and reuse. Farmers and other individuals can collect empty plastic bottles and other plastic materials for sale to such companies. There is money to be earned from the collection of plastic materials.
It is the same case with metallic waste. There are always vehicles traversing the villages in search of “scrap,” which is paid for.
Organic waste like crop residues, banana leaves, and paper can be composted and turned into fertiliser, which farmers can use in their gardens or sell to other farmers.
Plastic waste reuse was one of the main features at the last Labour Day celebrations by the Association of Catholic Professionals, Masaka Diocese, ASSOCP-MD. Every Labour Day, the Bishop of Masaka Diocese, Severus Jumba, hosts different professionals and workers to a special Mass and a get-together-party where different development ideas are discussed.
In his sermon, he laid special emphasis on the big contribution agriculture makes to national development. He also had a word of encouragement for each of the ASSOCP-MD professions.
At the get-together-party venue, he inspected the plastic reuse stall staged by Mr Francis Sematimba, headmaster of St Maria Goreth Primary School, Mpugwe, in Masaka City. Mr Sematimba believes that school is the best place to teach children about natural environment protection.
Bishop Severus Jumba (left) and Mr Francis Sematimba (right), the head teacher of St Maria Goreth Primary School in Masaka City discuss some of the artificial fruits made out of plastic waste to serve as teaching aids. PHOTO/MICHAEL J SSALI
The school head and other teachers train children to collect and reuse plastic waste materials. At the stall the bishop and ASSOP-MD members saw artificial pawpaws, cassava tubers, pumpkins, and other articles made of plastic waste materials.
Mr Sematimba highlights a famous quote of the late Pope Francis: “Environmental destruction is an offence against God and our common home.” He and his fellow teachers integrate plastic waste material into teaching and making learning aids. “We train teachers to make teaching aids out of plastic waste. For example, as a teacher, you don’t have to carry a fresh papaw to the classroom every time you want the pupils to see one as a learning aid.”
“The teacher is trained to collect plastic waste materials and use them to make artificial pawpaws that look like the natural pawpaw. We do this for pumpkins, cassava tubers, and other food crops. We also teach the children to make flowers and Christmas trees for sale out of plastic waste,”Mr Sematimba adds. Also, the teachers teach the children to make chairs and dustbins.
All the improvised articles were on display at the ASSOP-MD function for everyone to see. His school was declared the winner of a number of awards including that of Best Plastic Sustainable School in Uganda, which won him a fully paid trip to Sweden.
Mr Sematimba has also won a trip to Ireland as the best Ugandan teacher making a difference. In the “Global Search for Sustainable School in Uganda” award, he was also taken to the Netherlands. Ms Rose Nakyejwe, the Masaka District natural resources officer, says the local authorities appreciate the effort made by Mr Sematimba and fellow teachers to protect the natural environment through recycling plastic waste.
“As a district…we do wish he would pass on the spirit and skills to fellow teachers everywhere in Uganda. His school has gone a long way in providing the children with practical lessons and skills in environment preservation and crop production,” Ms Nakyejwe says.
