THE VOICE RADIO SHOW impact of litter in the CDB

FROM the time Lusaka was declared a capital city in 1935, it has gradually but steadily grown into a bustling metropolitan. A decade and half later, the city has experienced rapid increase in population and infrastructure within the central business district and the peri-urban areas. The unplanned settlements that have uncontrollably sprung up in the past two decades have given rise to population explosion. In turn, population growth has resulted in indiscriminate disposal of plastic and other litter which is now endangering the environment and making it almost impossible to preserve natural and essential resources such as ground water, plants, trees, and natural fertility of soil. Every day Lusaka City Council (LCC) generates more tonnes of garbage than any other city or three times that of what other cities like Ndola generate. The original beauty of townships and the central business district in the country has been spoilt over the years by the increasing amount of litter. Lusaka city population has been increasing and hence the task of dealing with waste has become more challenging. According to the Zambia Environmental Management Agency, in 1996 Lusaka residents were making 220,000 tonnes (t) of waste per year and it was believed that by 2011, this quantity would leap to 530,000t with more big quantities of waste such as plastic. The local authority spends millions of kwacha a year on litter control. It has been estimated that the amount of litter dropped throughout Lusaka is increasing, so the cost is likely to continue to rise. And countrywide, the local authorities have implemented the “Make Zambia Clean” campaign to provide a solution to the prevailing garbage crisis but there has been no positive yield yet. According to John London, e-how writer, a littered ecosystem is a threat to its inhabitants. He further defines litter as the careless disposal of unwanted items. London says it is usually done on an individual basis and occurs when an individual disposes of an item in an improper manner like thr