Four reverse vending machines (RVMs) will soon be strategically installed across the City of Kigali to enhance the collection of recyclable materials by incentivizing consumers to deposit used plastic bottles, glass bottles, cans, and e-waste in exchange for rewards.

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An RVM is a machine that allows a person to insert a used or empty glass bottle, plastic bottle, or aluminum can in exchange for a reward.

The initiative was announced on June 19, 2024, as the government and its partners launched waste valorization facilities at the Nduba dumpsite. These facilities have the capacity to handle 100 tonnes of waste per day, while a bio-waste treatment facility can produce five tonnes of organic fertilizers from soft waste.

Paulin Buregeya, Chief Executive of the Company for Protection of Environment and Development (COPED), emphasised the need to offer incentives to households, businesses, and institutions. These incentives could include equipment to help sort waste at the source, in addition to other rewards.

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"We have been collecting waste and transporting it to the Nduba dumpsite. Sorting waste at the site will become easier if waste is sorted at the household and community level before being taken to Nduba. This step will encourage investment in waste transportation and incentivize households to sort waste at the source,” he said.

Buregeya added that with households, businesses, and institutions sorting waste at the source, investors will be more likely to buy trucks to transport each type of waste separately.

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"The waste sorting project could be a model to replicate. Sustainable waste management is possible if all three actors—waste generators, transporters, and handlers at landfills—work together,” he noted.

Fulgence Dusabimana, the Vice Mayor in Charge of Urbanization and Infrastructure in Kigali, said that as waste is turned into revenue, waste collectors and transporters will be motivated to incentivize waste generators to sort waste at the source.

"While factories, big restaurants, and hotels are sorting waste at the source, it remains a challenge for households. Households often do not sort waste because transporters do not separate soft waste from solid and e-waste during transportation. This challenge needs to be addressed on both sides,” he said.

He also mentioned that toilet waste will be treated at a new plant in Masaka, Kicukiro District, which will handle 200 cubic meters of fecal matter per day.

The Minister of Environment Valentine Uwamariya said that turning waste into resources could reduce the fees households are charged for waste collection.

Waste in Kigali has tripled, from 141.38 tonnes per day in 2006 to 495.76 tonnes currently. Sorting waste at the landfill for better utilization has been challenging. The City of Kigali aims to turn 70 percent of waste into organic fertilizers. The remaining 30 percent, which includes solid waste, plastic bottles, and paper, should also be recycled.