EMA Up-Scales Law Enforcement and Patrols on Waste Management

EMA Up-Scales Law Enforcement and Patrols on Waste Management
Yvonne Mutambwa
The Environmental Management Agency (EMA) and other law enforcement agencies in Harare have up-scaled prosecution and patrols of people who litter and dump waste on undesignated sites.
In a statement on Wednesday, Provincial Environmental Manager for Harare Metropolitan Province, Mr Leon Mutungamiri said their main targets are individuals who litter, illegal dumping of waste, and public conveyance transport operators without bins.
“…individuals caught throwing litter through the window of vehicles and shop owners without adequate bins in front of their shops.
“The Environmental Management Agency calls upon every citizen in Harare to reconsider their behaviour and embrace the notion that, a clean environment is everyone’s right and it calls for responsibility and an active role to achieve it,” he said.
Mr Mutungamiri said the waste management situation in Harare Metropolitan Province is a cause for concern and requires citizens to take responsibility for their actions.
“The mushrooming dumpsites in most residential areas provide breeding grounds for disease-causing vectors,” he said.
He also said waste generators particularly the business community and industry should be guided by sustainability principles which take into consideration the environmental consequences of their operations.
“The extended producer responsibility anchored on sustainable production and consumption entails that every waste generator particularly bottling companies, fast food outlets and bread manufacturing companies should follow their products throughout their life cycles to ensure that they do not at any given point constitute litter.
“The Environmental Management Agency is calling upon business entities to embrace the extended producer responsibility as a strategy to promote sustainable waste management”