Illegal dumping in Bulawayo has dropped sharply, with the city issuing only four tickets during the latest reporting period, a development the council attributes to successful public education campaigns.
According to the latest Full Council Minutes, the city’s Health Services Department conducted 27 health education sessions during the month, targeting areas with high waste generation.
“The awareness campaigns sought to encourage responsible waste disposal practices and enhance public understanding of environmental health issues,” the minutes read.
The education sessions were complemented by 14 clean-up campaigns led by churches, private companies and community groups.
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“These initiatives contributed significantly to promoting environmental cleanliness and strengthening community participation in waste management,” the minutes read.
Council reported that only four tickets were issued for illegal dumping during the month but cautioned that enforcement efforts were limited by resource constraints.
Despite the reduction in enforcement action, the council warned that illegal dumping remains a growing concern.
“Given the increasing prevalence of indiscriminate waste disposal across the city, there is a pressing need to strengthen the unit through the provision of dedicated transport and additional personnel,” the minutes read.
“Additional resources would enable the unit to intensify surveillance, public education, and enforcement activities aimed at curbing illegal dumping and improving overall environmental sanitation.”
The minutes further highlighted limited resources, especially refuse compactors, remains a huge concern in effectively improving refuse collection.
“On average, between 10 and 12 refuse compactors were available each day to service the eastern suburbs and the Central Business District (CBD), while refuse collection in Wards 6 to 29 continued to be undertaken by the Bulawayo Waste Management Truckers Association (BWMTA), read the minutes.
“To cope with high waste volumes in the CBD, an additional six trucks from BWMTA were deployed to augment collection operations.
“It is noteworthy that of the reported compactors available daily, the majority are hired from the Ministry of Local Government with only three to five council compactors being available daily.”
Council says 14 of its 20 compactors have exceeded their economic service life and are increasingly prone to frequent mechanical breakdowns.
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