Public Services International (PSI) Unions are urging the government to enact a comprehensive national waste management policy to regulate various waste management practices, including disposal, segregation, recycling, landfilling, incineration, and treatment.
The lack of a clear national policy on waste management, inadequate budgets and infrastructure, weak strategic planning, low staff capacity, poor information systems, and disorganized waste management and fee collection systems pose significant challenges to effective public service delivery in waste management.
Dr. Evelyn Akech, the Public Service International Sub-Regional Secretary for English-speaking Africa, emphasized that a national waste management policy is essential to address environmental issues and address public concerns about waste mismanagement, which can adversely affect water and electricity sectors.
PSI unions are conducting a campaign to enhance public service delivery in electricity, water, and waste management sectors by urging employers to address inefficiencies in the public service sector.
The unions are conducting assessments on transparency and decent work in the supply chains of electricity, water, and waste services. In the context of privatization and restructuring of these services, the project aims to safeguard workers’ interests throughout the value chain.
The project encourages trade unions to advocate for universal access to quality public services that are environmentally sustainable and provide decent work by mobilizing workers against policies that hinder accessibility and quality in the water, energy, and waste sectors.
The public is being educated about the importance of maintaining utilities in public ownership, and employers and policymakers are being engaged on project issues.
Dr. Evelyn Akech highlighted the serious concerns regarding the adverse impacts of widely used solid waste management practices on both the population and the environment. Governments at national and local levels must commit to ensuring that their organizations’ activities, whether in production or otherwise, are environmentally acceptable and sustainable by preventing or minimizing adverse environmental impacts from biological, manufacturing, hazardous liquid, and other human-produced waste. Solid waste management remains a significant global environmental concern, making it a crucial factor in city development due to increased pollution.
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