“The way plastics are disposed of in the urban setting is alarming. They end up clogging the drainage system which often causes flooding,” says Benard Musamba the Research and Conservation Officer, A Rocha Uganda.
Benard thinks that the cause for huge tones of single-use plastics in Uganda is that most beverage companies use bottles to package their drinks which are never reused or recycled.
According to the United Nations, Plastic waste can take anywhere from 20 to 500 years to decompose, and even then, it never fully disappears; it just gets smaller and smaller.
This year we have focused on teaching children the alternative ways they can use plastic in their schools to make dustbins, school gates, and later for urban farming. Every classroom has made its dustbin, and the creativity of the children in a way has been boasted. St. Boniface Bwenkoma, Sacred Heart Jinja Kaloli, Gombe Prince Suuna, Kanyange, Tikalu Umea, St. Balikudembe Nabinaka, and Busikili Umea are the primary schools that participated in this activity.
Since plastic pollution does not only happen in February, this campaign and vigilance should be our way of life. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Refuse, and Return.
