Step up efforts in proper waste disposal campaign

Last week, Rwanda joined the rest of the world to mark World Environment Day. It came in the wake of a report showing that the environment in Kigali is under threat from plastic bottles which are thrown around aimlessly. The New Times story of Experts seek to combat hazards of plastic bottles, showed that about 8000 plastic bottles are disposed off in Kigali daily.This state of affairs should be addressed with the seriousness it deserves. Pollution and environment degradation should not be allowed to continue.Worldwide environment conservation is vital for sustaining life as it has a direct impact on the national social-economic development.The speed of development today should not outpace that of environmental conservation. Human activities such as poor waste management and industrial pollution should be fought before they exert pressure on land and water sources.Checking farming in wetlands, proper waste management and population control are all critical to avoid environmental degradation.Rwanda Environment Management Authority (Rema) together with relevant ministries should step up the fight against environmental degradation. Efforts must be undertaken to recycle the plastic bottles or ensure their proper disposal. It also calls for increased public awareness on environmental conservation and good waste disposal among other things. Also Rema should often conduct environment assessment in the country to determine the level of environmental degradation.The move by researchers from Kigali Institute of Science and Technology (Kist) to find ways of using plastic bottles in construction is a practical solution and could check the problem of throwing around plastic bottles. These researchers deserve all the support to fight the plastic bottle menace.

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Step up efforts in proper waste disposal campaign