The complacency of pollution in Dar es Salaam

When you pass through the Mikocheni industrial area, all the way to Mwenge, there is this heavy pungent smell that accompanies you along with all the polluted trenches and curbs.

It’s been nearly four decades since government of Tanzania enacted the national environment management act no. 19 of 1983 and established NEMC (The National environment Management Council) with a abroad mandate in response to the nation’s need for such an institution that will oversee environmental management issues and also implement the resolutions of the Stockholm Conference of 1972, which called upon all nations to establish and strengthen national environment councils to advise governments and advise international community on environment issues.

Dar es Salaam is the largest city and a business hub in Tanzania but has still struggled to reduce and possibly eliminate the problem of environmental pollution especially solid waste.

Studies show that 4600 tons of waste is produced daily in Dar es Salaam, with only 19 percent being recycled, 2 percent being burned while 79 percent remains in the environment.

Since 2008, Forbes magazine has continued to list Dar es Salaam among the most polluted cities in the world.

Manzese, Tandika and Tandale are among the dirtiest places in the city due to the accumulation of waste in various suburbs of its places.

Though the national environment policy (NEP) was presented in the country since 1997 with the main objective of preserving environment but the city has continued to look dirty.

Who is responsible?

The Environmental Management Act, 20 of 2004 states that it is the responsibility of every Tanzanian to ensure that the environment is clean and friendly to health this includes citizens, companies, government institutions

There has been a growing trend to charge fines in some cities such as Kilimanjaro and Mwanza for all those involved in pollution as part of efforts to reduce and eliminate waste in their areas

The penalty to be imposed in accordance with environmental law is a fine of Sh50,000 or imprisonment for more than three months and not exceeding seven years or all together

Different from other cities, Dar es Salaam seems not to be paying attention to that.

Who is at risk of being affected by pollution?

Pollution is increasingly causing damage to Dar es Salaam residents including extreme heat, floods and outbreaks of deadly diseases.

Pandemic and epidemic diseases caused by environmental pollution have plagued the city of Dar es Salaam almost every year and caused various harm including deaths.

For instance when water is contaminated with foreign substances, like harmful pathogens toxic chemicals or medical waste its chemical composition changes making it harmful to use.

Diseases like cholera, dysentery and leptospirosis are known to be spread through contaminated water and can cause serious health hazards in a population.

Flood reports have become a common occurrence for city dwellers due to clogging of canals and poor city planning.

Not only humans are affected by this; other species have been reported to be at risk because of the effects of pollution

Improper waste disposal as it causes environmental pollution can also interfere with the food supply as plant growth is impaired reducing the amount of food produced.

It is estimated that for this year, more than 100,000 marine plants and organisms have died from ingestion of toxins caused by waste dumped at sea.

How is waste to be processed?

The waste in Dar es Salaam is usually collected monthly for dumping. Mr Ngoda, the head of the environmental department of Ilala Municipal Council said that every citizen has a responsibility to clean up his or her area and recycle waste.

Later a garbage truck comes and picks up the garbage for dumping. “Citizens have to clean and store waste on a daily basis and it is the government’s responsibility is to transport the waste and dispose of it in a dump,” he explained.

This usually costs Sh350,000 to Sh400,000 for the local government to pay for garbage truck services, collect household waste and properly dispose of it.

Local governments have a mandate to collect the money from the public and eventually pay the contractor for bringing the garbage truck to the area.

The money has been raised by local government appointed collectors in an effort to ensure that revenue is sufficient for truck payments.

Each household or tenant pays between Sh3,000 to Sh5,000 per month to access the service.

Mr Abilai Pazzi, the chairman of the local government Tupendane, said that there was a growing inconvenience for the people to provide money for waste services and this delays the arrival of garbage trucks in the streets.

“If people change it will be easier to pay for the garbage truck two to three times a month due to the accumulation of debt for the service among the citizens,” Mr Pazzi said.

Challenges hampering sanitation in the city

On the other end of the service spectrum, garbage truck driver Mohamed Miraji, said the infrastructure towards the dump is in poor condition and causes delays in getting to the dump and also reduces the possibility of making many trips from the streets to the dump. “We can only complete one to two trips a day due to the difficulty of getting to the dump,” Mohammed said.

Environmental education has been shown to be a stumbling block for the public and leads to acts of pollution without knowing the magnitude of the future effects.

However, the environment of household waste storage has continued to be a challenge where citizens have been forced to store waste in grain storage bags for a whole month due to lack of safer and healthier options.

It has become increasingly rare to see trash cans in the homes of Dar es Salaam residents due to the need to spend money to own such special waste storage facilities.

Awareness in the implementation of environmental policies in the country and thus make environmental planning difficult.

How complacent are we with the current situation?

Citizens have been increasingly involved in complaints of pollution due to the dumping of waste in the streets of Dar es Salaam.

Manzese resident, Said Mabruki said, “most of us do not know the effects of pollution and its magnitude in this city because we do not even get the data and we do not know how to get it.”

“People may think of the few cans they throw on the side of the road and even on the street but it is difficult to know its effects in more detail,” he adds.

Yombo resident Moureen Dickson said the government should closely monitor the issue of waste collection and disposal by citizens, companies and other civil society organizations to ensure that the pollution situation is completely eradicated in this city.

“It is true that people throw trash carelessly but even factories cause air pollution and they should be held accountable as well,” Moureen said.

In Mabibo, Irene Gerald said the government should use its vehicles to collect waste and not use contractors. “We pay various taxes in this nation, it is not right to pay for waste service,” she voiced out.

How do we remedy this?

1. Mandate

The Ministry of Health under the leadership of the late Dr John Pombe Joseph Magufuli, announced that every last Saturday of the month is to be a special day for environmental clean-up in the country.

The process however has seemed a bit unfocused in recent days, with enthusiasm declining.

Mr. Audax Humphrey who is an environmentalist has suggested that there be continuous monitoring of the implementation of the environmental policy to achieve the goals rather than leaving the policy to remain in the text.

Policy must be recognized and understood by every citizen so that it can be successful

“From schools, homes, colleges, workplaces and even the streets, education should be taken seriously so that citizens can understand better what they need to do to change the state of pollution in the environment as it is now,” Humphrey said.

2. Reduce, reuse, recycle

Companies should also form part of the anti-pollution team in the city who their ideas and practices, can reduce the effects of.

Arena Recycling Industry, located in Dar es Salaam, uses plastic waste to make bricks and tiles for building houses

It already collects 10 tons every week and has collected a total of 200 tons of plastic waste since its inception in 2018 for production.

Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Ms Hellena Sailas has encouraged the provision of education to citizens to know the effects of pollution.

“That will enable them to take action by cleaning and caring for the environment to avoid the effects of human-induced pollution,” said Hellena.

However, she urged the youth to take up the challenge as an opportunity by designing different projects that will help keep the city clean, generate income and employment.

3. Educate

Moreover, we need to build a teaching habit from an early age on environmental education to reduce pollution which also contributes to climate change where both parents and teachers teach children to avoid waste disposal and proper disposal of waste for the sake of future generations.

Plenty of philosophical statements have proven that human thoughts shape behaviour so what a human does tells a prevailing story in their mind.

The media has a great deal to do with this due to the indisputable fact they can reach more people, motivate them and bring a positive attitude among community members.

If everyone is involved in this issue it will surely remain history in this city.

Additional report by Catherine Mbaga