Gulu city unable to collect 90 tons of waste

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Gulu City Council is currently failing to collect and dispose off 90 tons of solid waste generated daily.

According to information from Gulu City Council health inspector’s office, Gulu city collects only 40 tons out of 130 tons of solid waste daily, leaving piles of 90 tons which puts the general public at risk of contracting disease caused by poor hygiene.

Alfred Okwonga, the Gulu city mayor says that the inability to collect all the 130 tons of waste generated is due to the lack of garbage skips and trucks.

On Tuesday evening, Gulu City Council received four brand new skip loader trucks worth 1.8 billion shillings donated by Kreditanstalt fur Wielderaufbau-KFW, a German agency with funding from GIZ under the Integrated Program to Improve the Living Conditions in Gulu.

According to Okwonga, the four skip loader trucks shall supplement the two existing loaders which are in a poor state. He says that the city will now be in a position to distribute the new garbage skips to the different garbage collection points.

He added that the four trucks shall be distributed to Pece –Laroo and Bardege –Layibi divisions and that it is the divisions to fuel the trucks as the city shall handle the maintenance in case of breakdown.

Patrick Lumumba Oola, the Bardege-Layibi division councilor in Gulu City says the trucks will enable them to collect garbage that normally piles at Library and Kanyagoga Parishes, as well as Lacor trading center.

Oola says they will now be able to achieve their goal of making Gulu city the cleanest city in the country.

Margaret Adoch, a vendor and the chairperson of Olayoilong market in Gulu city says garbage collection at the market is irregular. She says Gulu city is currently collecting garbage at the market twice a week instead of daily.

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