Kampalans to pay for waste generated on National Cleaning Day

Kampala residents and business operators will pay between Shs 1,000 and Shs 40,000 for the waste generated during the National Cleaning Day.

The next National Cleaning Day is scheduled for August 29. Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) executive director Hajjat Sharifah Buzeki said the charges are intended to help manage the large volumes of waste generated during the mandatory cleaning exercise and address gaps in routine waste collection and evacuation across the city.

Buzeki said the new measures were introduced after lessons from the first National Cleaning Day, when the large volumes of waste generated placed additional pressure on the city’s collection system.

Kampala generates between 2,000 and 2,500 tonnes of waste daily, but a significant proportion remains uncollected. To address the shortfall, KCCA has contracted nine private waste collection companies to supplement its capacity.

Buzeki said eight of the nine companies had secured operational permits and were expected to evacuate about 1,669.5 tonnes of waste daily. This will be added to KCCA’s existing capacity of about 500 tonnes from common-user facilities such as markets, taxi parks, health centres and schools.

Once the ninth contract, covering Lubaga North, is finalised, Buzeki said the city’s total daily collection capacity would rise to about 2,169.5 tonnes.

The contracted companies include Nabugabo-Apdil Joint Venture Ltd, Hilltop Enterprise Ltd, Y, Big Seal Holdings and Ecoserve Ltd, among others.

Buzeki said the companies would deploy an additional 116 garbage trucks across the city, while 10 new government-funded trucks are expected by the end of the current financial year.

Under the Polluter Pays Principle provided for under the National Environment Act, Buzeki said waste generators are responsible for the cost of disposing of their waste.

She said payments to the contracted companies would be based on rates approved by the KCCA council in October 2024 for routine waste collection across the city.

Residents in informal and low-income settlements will pay Shs 1,000 for every 50-kilogramme bag of waste. The same minimum charge will apply to bags that are not full.

Domestic households and commercial premises will pay Shs 3,000 per 50-kilogramme bag, while large institutions, including churches, mosques, schools and temples, will pay Shs 40,000 per truckload.

Buzeki said the rates could be reviewed periodically, subject to approval by the KCCA council and depending on prevailing circumstances. KCCA will continue to bear the cost of collecting waste generated at public facilities, including markets, taxi parks, health centres and schools.

Ahead of and during the cleaning exercise, waste collection across Kampala’s 857 villages will follow a “bring-to-truck” model.

Under the arrangement, residents will be required to keep their waste at home and take it directly to designated collection trucks instead of leaving it along roadsides or verandas, a practice Buzeki said is illegal.

Households and businesses will also be required to separate waste into two categories – organic and inorganic – before taking it to designated collection points.

Buzeki also reiterated the ban on informal waste transportation methods, including handcarts, bicycles and three-wheelers, commonly known as tuk-tuks, which she said contribute to illegal dumping along roads and in drainage channels.

She said division town clerks, local leaders, parish chiefs, solid waste officers and contracted waste collectors would jointly establish collection points, set schedules and develop household inspection checklists.

The inspections are intended to discourage residents from keeping or “hoarding” waste to avoid paying collection fees.

Buzeki said the measures are intended to eliminate illegal dumping sites, speed up waste evacuation, improve accountability by assigning specific collectors and local leaders to designated areas, and increase community participation through predictable collection points.

Simon Kigenyi, the deputy KCCA executive director, said residents who already use private waste collectors would not be required to pay twice.

“They will only present their receipts to have their waste collected,” Kigenyi said.

Denis Ddamulira of Your Waste Company Ltd, which has been contracted to collect waste in Kawempe North, said the company would begin by sensitising residents about waste sorting and proper disposal.

He urged Kampala residents to support the nine companies contracted by KCCA to collect waste in their respective communities.

Ddamulira said the company was committed to ensuring that waste generated in Kawempe North is properly collected and disposed of to improve sanitation in the area.

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