Director of Planning and Development for Neno District Council, Charles Lomoni has said the council expects an improvement in waste management in all its markets following the construction of Mbemba Dumping Site with funding from Governance to Enable Service Delivery (GESD).
Lomoni said the project, which is in the second phase, will among others, help the council in getting rid of its piled garbage that is a hurdle to the lives of both market users and merchants.
In an interview on Thursday, Lomoni said the dumping site is being done in phases, noting that phase one is almost completed and that now they are doing second phase.
“We will see to it that the dumping site is completed soon as it is a very important facility; as you know environmental management cannot be done without disposing of the waste into one place,” Lomoni said.
Lomoni said the project is expected to be completed by December this year.
He said in the meantime, the council has dug temporary pits at Zalewa and Neno Turn-off with support from Zalewa Lime Company where the waste is being disposed.
He disclosed that the council is also negotiating to have another waste yard at former Malawi Young Pioneers Base to carter for the Boma area.
“As a temporary measure, we have dug a pit behind the market where all the waste is disposed and what is remaining is to protect the area so that it should not be harmful to communities around,” he said.
Other than managing waste, Lomoni said the project will also be beneficial to the citizens since they will be able to harvest manure from the site and improve crop productivity.
“We believe this facility will serve its purpose and help us achieve some milestones in as far as waste management is concerned. We also hope to help our farmers through compost manure and also beat recurring diseases such as cholera and endemics like typhoid,” he said.
Neno District Council Environmental Officer, Kenneth Pondamali said few things are remaining at the waste yard for it to become operational.
“For the waste yard to be complete there is need to finalise the construction of toilets, guard house, sorting area, composting unit and dumping pit for non-biodegradable waste,” Pondamali said.
He added that so far, the council has received funding under GESD performance based grants three to continue with the construction works at the facility and the issue of waste management will be sorted.
A resident around the dumping site, Aubrey Gama said he anticipates that his crop yields will improve since the site is close by and it will be easy for him to access the manure and even recycle some garbage and improve his livelihood.
“I am optimistic that this project will help people not only around the site but also from elsewhere to have clean environment and also turn the waste into something else valuable,” Gama said.
Mbemba Dumping Site is along the M6 corridor and will also manage waste from Chifunga and Zalewa trading centres.
