First Lady unveils mobile waste disposal facility
ENVIRONMENT patron First Lady Dr Auxillia Mnangagwa yesterday launched a first-of-its-kind mobile waste disposal facility which separates waste from source as part of her zero waste management drive tailored to ensure people live in clean surroundings.
Dr Mnangagwa, who was recently appointed SADC Environment Patron, is also the Secretary for Environment and Tourism in the Zanu PF politburo.
The mother of the nation has been moving around the country promoting good waste management through awareness programmes and waste management training.
She also recently launched an underground colour-coded waste disposal facility in Ruwa which is ideal for waste separation and emits less odour.
It is also less prone to vandalism while having a high aesthetic appeal.
The First Lady urged the Environmental Management Agency (EMA) and the Zimbabwe Sunshine Group to place mobile waste disposal facilities in all districts and busy areas like bus termini.
Amai Mnangagwa says recycling waste materials turns waste into money, hence people should embrace the separation at source technique.
Unveiling the facility, Dr Mnangagwa, a champion of waste management, said communities needed to be educated on the importance of waste disposal facilities which were needed in public places.
She said she desired to see every citizen practising good waste management for the safety of the general public and the sustainability of the environment.
“We are growing from one stage to another and we are bringing this to the people. When using this facility, one must have the presence of mind not to mix items.
This facility is written paper, glass and plastic so our people need to be educated on the importance and use of this facility. We want to see this type of equipment in places where we have a lot of people and a lot of litter,” she said.
Dr Mnangagwa said people must not throw litter everywhere.
“If something like this comes to us, this is very important and should be embraced. From the mindset, you know what you are doing, what you are holding, you know where you are going to put it which is very important for our day-to-day living. Healthwise, this is commendable because we should take pride in creating a clean, safe and healthy environment for the nation,” she said.
The director-general of the Environmental Management Agency (EMA), Mr Aaron Chigona, paid tribute to the First Lady for her awareness campaigns which he said were leading to a change in the mindset of the people.
“We are here to showcase a programme that our patron, the First Lady started, which is zero waste movement. We are taking it to a further step. She launched the underground waste receptacles and we have now developed this movable receptacle which can be taken from one place to the other as we implement our zero waste management. We are encouraging people to use this for waste sorting at source. We are celebrating this initiative as we take it up as a build-up to the national conference where we think our patron would be able to showcase how she has done the work in terms of the zero waste movement as well as encouraging every citizen to embrace waste management,” he said.
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