WINDHOEK: Windhoek residents can now earn an income from their solid waste material following the inauguration of the City of Windhoek (CoW) first Solid Waste Buy-Back Centre in Katutura on Friday.

The four-year pilot project is a partnership between CoW and the city of Bremen in Germany, funded by the European Union (EU) to the tune of N.dollars 36 million to promote recycling and environmental awareness.

Speaking at the inauguration ceremony, Windhoek Mayor Queen Kamati said the project aims to instil a culture of waste management amongst the residents of Windhoek and promotion of a circular economy.

‘With this facility, residents can now deposit their solid waste here and earn an income. The project is expected to provide direct job opportunities to 10 people including administrative staff and operators of the facility,’ she said.

She noted that the establishment of the facility is in alignment with the objectives outlined in the 2018 National Waste Management standards by 2028, which is a subsequent f
ocus on waste reduction and achieving zero waste to landfill.

At the same event, EU Ambassador Ana Beatriz Martins said one of the objectives is to support Namibia to shift towards a more sustainable model known as circular economy for Windhoek as a pilot, and for Namibia as a whole in the future through mitigation of environmental harm and promoting growth by recycling waste and raising awareness through environmental education.

‘In line with EU’s strategic priorities and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals we recognise the importance of high-quality solid waste management to safeguard public health, protect the environment and transition to a circular economy,’ she said.

CoW’s Solid and Waste Management acting chief engineer, Stellio Tsauseb indicated the centre will be open to the public in May 2024, noting that different types of solid waste materials will have different price structures which will be measured in kilograms to determine the price.

‘If you bring in the waste, it needs to be
separated as well and there are different elements. So if you bring in aluminium, plastic, papers and all those, it should be separated so that it can be weighed as per the type of waste and you can get your price based on that,’ he said.

Source: The Namibia Press Agency