A team from MAF joined with Haven Education Centre and Bulonde community leaders to collect plastic litter on a stretch of the local road in Kajjansi village, where MAF in Uganda is based.
The Kajjansi area grapples with plastic waste management. During rainy seasons, litter is pushed by running water and clogs drainage channels. Most of it reaches the lower end of the airfield precinct, next to a large swamp not far from the edges of Lake Victoria.
“We had a great time moving in the community with the kids and the local leaders picking up litter,” said MAF’s Airfield Supervisor, Marvin Masinde, who led a team in the recent litter collection event.
“We are happy that we were able to contribute to the wellbeing of our community, making it a healthy place to live in.
“MAF is reaching out because the airfield is located in this community, and we want to come up with sustainable ways of keeping our environment clean.”
MAF’s strategy aims to influence the community to take ownership of the issue and adopt good garbage disposal practices, and in the long run help them to appreciate its importance and get involved.
We had a great time moving in the community with the kids and the local leaders picking up litter.
School children, who are the future generation, are a major focus as they can influence their families too.
MAF partnered with Wasteplus, a company that recycles plastics, to demonstrate to school children at Haven Education Centre how disposed plastics can be recycled to make useful products. The training was attended by two other schools from the community.
“They showed us how to recycle plastics and the different products we can make,” said Ethan Edward Kyeyune, a grade seven pupil.
“They also taught us that recycling doesn’t only protect the environment, but it helps the future generation.
“I have learnt to keep my environment clean by not littering plastic bottles since they are nondegradable material. The whole process was exciting, and I hope that they can come again.”
But the eagerness and excitement exhibited by the community raises hope, that once the people appreciate the danger that comes with improper plastic disposal, environmental degradation here will be a thing of the past.
“The pupils have been implementing what they were taught, sorting plastics according to their types,” said Olede Simon, the head teacher.
“We can clearly see that the recycling training and picking litter in the community was very impactful. They have been picking every plastic around, and they are implementing these habits at home. They really appreciated how the products are made. This a good experience and given a chance they would like to do it again.”
