Chronicle Editor
Leonard Ncube, Victoria Falls Reporter
VICTORIA Falls Municipality has committed time and resources towards construction of a low-cost engineered landfill to improve solid waste management.
With a growing industry and population, the resort town, whose application for city status was endorsed by Parliament recently, needed to upgrade its existing dumpsite near Masue River to match standards expected of a tourism destination.
After receiving $3,5 million devolution funds from Government this year, the council dedicated the funds to construction of a dumpsite, a project that had stalled for years because of lack of funding.
The idea of a dumpsite was first mooted in 2012 ahead of the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) but failed to kick off because of exorbitant quotations from developers.
The municipality then sent its Town Engineer Mrs Sherinah Sibanda to Japan through the Japan International Corporate Agency to study solid waste management systems, and she brought home the Fukuoka waste treatment model.
With Victoria Falls set to become a city soon, this could be the new city’s major development project making it one of the few local authorities with environmentally friendly and low-cost solid waste management model in the country.
Over the years the municipality and environmentalists have been battling land and air pollution caused by wild animals particularly elephants, baboons, warthogs and hyenas that would scavenge for food and scatter waste including plastics.
There were occasional veld fires from fossil fuels at the dumpsite.
Environmentalists led by Greenline Africa Trust once fundraised for US$50 000 to erect an electric perimeter fence to protect the dumpsite but lost the battle as elephants destroyed it.
They responded by digging trenches around the dumpsite to prevent elephants and warthogs from scavenging at the facility.
The permanent and lasting solution is the engineered low-cost landfill and council has adopted the Fukuoka model whose construction is underway.
During the 2021 budget formulation meetings, some residents called for suspension of construction of the dumpsite citing lack of funding.
However, Town Treasurer Mr Neville Ndlovu told residents and stakeholders that construction of the dumpsite was one of the town’s top developmental projects, the others being street lighting, roads, housing and water and sanitation programme which comprise sewer, water and reservoir construction.
Initially the landfill was supposed to be completed last month but the project was delayed because of Covid-19 and lack of funding, with about US$150 000 needed for the second and final phase which should have been completed before the onset of the rainy season, resources permitting.
Speaking during a recent visit to the site, the Town Engineer said the municipality chose to adopt the Fukuoka model after several attempts to engage developers proved expensive.
“Victoria Falls has been having challenges with its waste. After it was found necessary to start the project in 2012 ahead of the UNWTO General Assembly, the Environmental Management Agency (EMA) initiated a solid waste management project and brought some designs which were tendered out for US$600 000. The cheapest bid was US$1,3 million.
“The project was then handed over to council but our budget was low to implement it. We took the design and reduced the scope and tendered out. The lowest quote was again US$1,3 million but we didn’t have the money hence we eventually stopped it in 2016,” said Mrs Sibanda.
She said the idea behind the landfill is to improve solid waste management or waste disposal, which entails how garbage is handled from its source including its collection, transportation, treatment and disposal at the dumpsite.
“We adopted the Fukuoka landfill design which is not expensive and used in developing countries, and can be done on an existing landfill. The design cost us US$300 000 instead of US$1,3 million quotes we have been getting.
“After we received $3,594 million devolution funds from Government which translates to US$120 000, we decided to use it for the landfill. Our first phase was supposed to be completed at the end of October.
“The landfill will have two cells which are 120 metres long and 30 metres wide as well as link roads. There will also be a leachate pond measuring 20x20x3 square metres. The cells will be layered with a plastic sheet at the bottom and there will be a drainage pipe directing leachate water to the pond. Perforated pipes will be fitted to drain methane gas generated from the fermented rubbish to prevent veld fires,” explained Mrs Sibanda.
The engineered landfill is recognised and being adopted by many councils worldwide.
Mrs Sibanda said each cell has a four-year lifespan after which it will be compacted and filled with soil before vegetation is planted to make it habitable once again as it will meet environmental regulations, according to the model.
This means the existing dumpsite will last eight years from the day the landfill will be completed.
There will be staff houses, ablution facilities and a small office for record keeping.
Fires that used to occur each year between September and November at the dumpsite because of random waste disposal will be a thing of the past once the engineered landfill is completed.
Waste material will be rolled and compacted while ensuring no pollution to the environment takes place even through water seepage.
The council has failed to buy its own compactor with a small one costing US$209 000 hence it hires the machinery whenever services are required.
Residents have been urged to separate litter according to type at source and adopt recycling where they can use biodegradable material as compost.
Residents mix all kinds of litter including metals, glass and explosives such as batteries, biodegradable material and plastics making it hard to compact at the current dumpsite because wheels either get stuck or punctured.
The methane gas generated at the dumpsite is too little and not extractable hence it cannot be commercialised, highlighted Mrs Sibanda.
The municipality is convinced that the Fukuoka landfill will make the resort town environment friendly.
With recycling, the landfill will last even longer as only degradable material will be dumped at the dumpsite while other waste can be recycled to make jojo tanks, rubbish bins, metal pots and other materials.
Some residents also scavenge for valuables which they take home or sell for recycling.
Ms Salome Bhebhe said a bale of waste plastic is sold for US$15, while that of amahewu plastic containers costs US$5.
She said buyers from Harare and Bulawayo come on site showing proof of ready market for recycling.
Locals also buy tins which they use in storing homemade floor polish.
The council had planned to roll out awareness campaigns to educate residents about waste disposal and separation before Covid-19 disturbed the programme.
In developed countries, waste generates money while companies can even advertise on rubbish bins and refuse trucks because they will be clean.
Sustainable waste management means people should separate waste at their homes and place different types in separate bags, with degradable material used in the garden and one may find there is no need to buy a rubbish bin once they start separating waste.
Victoria Falls Town Clerk Mr Ronnie Dube said the municipality is one of the few local authorities using the Fukuoka model in the country, with Norton, Gwanda and Kadoma the others with similar models.
“We wish to raise awareness among residents post Covid-19 so they understand waste management. We want to introduce station collection where people will be required to place their bins at one place at the end of the street and this will make refuse collection faster and manageable and also reduce costs of labour and fuel.
“We will need a cage where bins will be placed on day of collection. Residents must not put sand, ash and metal in bins. Once embraced, everyone will see that this is cheap and manageable,” said Mr Dube.
The ripple effect of separating waste at home will also reduce insults by council refuse collectors (omabhimu) who usually hail insults on residents when they encounter a bin filled with sand and ash which they usually throw hard on the ground after emptying it.
Vendors who pick valuables at the dumpsite will also be directed to specific points instead of fumbling through waste.
There will be a timetable for collecting waste while frequency will also be reduced.
Mayor Councillor Somvelo Dlamini said Victoria Falls will soon fare better on service level benchmarking.
Lack of a proper landfill in Victoria Falls is one shortfall that has always been identified during scheduled local authorities’ exchange visits, said the Mayor adding that the town’s infrastructure must match its status. — @ncubeleon
Online Reporter