For most people, garbage is useless; something of no value. However, this thinking could soon change after local rubbish collectors and the City of Kigali unveiled a project, where they will buy all city rubbish from small scale collectors and individuals.

Under the smart village programme, Company for Protection of Environment Development (COPED) will effective next month start paying Rwf50 for every kilogramme of rubbish delivered at its different centres across the city, Paulin Buregeya, the chief executive officer, said.

The programme that is supported by the City of Kigali seeks to empower city dwellers dealing in rubbish collection, while protecting the environment through waste recycling.

Buregeya said the initiative has so far been launched in Gasabo and Nyarungege districts. It targets to benefit more than 500 collectors across the city, he added.

"The project will help in the establishment of integrated clean waste market systems capable of improving the livelihoods of all players along the value chain. It also seeks to turn garbage into organic fertilisers, thus reducing the import bill for synthetic fertilisers,” he said.

Buregeya said they are looking for investors, especially those with technical capacity in solid waste management, to help them recycle glass waste and other non-biodegradable waste that  accounts for between 10 -20 per cent of the total waste generated in the City of Kigali,” Buregeya told Business Times.

According to the State of Environment and Outlook 2013 report by Rwanda Environmental Management Authority (REMA), the threat of poor waste disposal has risen due to increased levels of urbanisation.

The report for example indicated that only 25 per cent of solid waste generated in Kigali is properly deposed of at a landfill located in Gasabo district.

At least 300 tonnes of waste generated in the City of Kigali is collected per day.

With the city’s population expected to hit three million people by 2020, up from current 1.35 million, it is imperative to adopt more innovative ways of waste disposal, Buregeya noted.

Leon Benimana Iwacu, an expert on garbage recycling in Nyarugenge District, said increasing electronic waste in the city poses huge challenges to such efforts.

However, according to Buregeya, giving incentives to rubbish collectors provides sustainable solution ease the problem.

"We are working with city residents, businesses and government agencies to demonstrate how waste can become a source of wealth and economic development,” he said.

He noted that limited awareness on waste management and lack of technical knowhow remained a challenge in the business.

Eleven companies are contracted to manage waste in the City of Kigali. According to Fidele Ndayisaba, the city mayor, there is need to extend the contract period from current three years to at least five years to allow contractors enough time to do a good job.

"Recognition of these pressures, as well as the realisation of compounding effects from the impacts of climate change has required a complementary priority of taking a green growth approach in pursuit of rapid economic transformation,” said Ndayisaba.

Turning waste into energy

Meanwhile, plans by City of Kigali to turn waste into energy are underway. The city authority recently announced plans to turn the waste material at Nduba dump site in Gasabo District, into energy.

Reuben Ahimbisibwe, the director general for infrastructure at the City of Kigali, told The New Times in a recent interview that some investors have already expressed interest in the project.

business@newtimes.co.rw