Key Facts

  • Choma is the provincial capital of the of the southern province of Zambia. It is twinned under the EWIT project with Austrian city of Vienna.

  • The EWIT project organised a workshop in July 2015 with key stakeholders in Choma to facilitate development of E-waste solutions for the city.

  • Choma does not currently have a formal system for segregating, recycling or treating E-waste, including hazardous E-waste. The E-waste is currently managed in part by the informal sector, or is disposed in the local dump site alongside the the general waste.

Choma has population of around 250,000 people.  Choma Municipal Council has the mandate to manage solid waste in Choma District as required by the Local Government (Solid Waste Management) Regulations, 2011 of the laws of Zambia.
The services provided by Choma District include street sweeping, drainage clearing and solid waste collection, transportation and disposal.  From generation to disposal waste is not currently segregated, and all wastes collected are disposed of in dump site.
Common E-waste generated include; Refrigerators, Freezers, Air conditioners, Televisions,
Laptops, Monitors, Fluorescent lamps, Electric stoves and cookers, Microwaves, Mobile phones, Pocket calculators,
Personal computers, Printers, Telephones, ATM machines.
There is inherent opportunity to undertake waste material recovery, which would create value benefits through E-waste, as well as co-benefits that include; human health and the environment, green jobs creation, poverty reduction, and contribution to pollution abatement.

The following data regarding E-waste management were identified as part of the EWIT project.  The data are derived from a range of sources.  Due to the difficulty in obtaining quantified data, much of the tonnage data are based on imprecise estimates.

To compare the data for different cities against each other you can use the ‘compare’ function on the main Cities page.

Country Zambia
City Choma (Zambia)
Current Population of the city 247,860
In which year was the population data collected? 2010
Quantity of municipal solid waste generated annually? (t/yr) -
Quantity of E-Waste generated from households annually? (t/yr) -
Quantity of E-Waste collected from households annually? (t/yr) -
Year of the above data -
Collection Stations 6
Active landfills 0
Active Dumps 1
Closed landfills and closed dumps 1
Dismantling Facilities 1 (Lusaka)
Repair & Refurbish Facilities 0
Material Recovery Facilities (MRF) 1 (Lusaka)
Other facilities
Does the national government have an agency mandated to enforce solid waste including E-Waste laws and regulations? Zambia Environmental Management Agency (ZEMA)
Does the city have a department dedicated to solid waste including E-Waste management? Local Authority
Does the city have a unit enforcing solid waste including E-Waste issues in the city? Public Health Department
Does the city have its own solid waste management including E-Waste rules? by laws
List of international partners and NGOs currently working with the city and briefly describe each project nil
Is there a national law governing solid waste including E-Waste management in the country? Environmental Management Act 2011
Who is mandated to collect, transfer and dispose of E-Waste Local Authorities and private organisations - all wastes
Does the city have solid waste including E-Waste management rules and regulations? Yes
Does the city have a solid waste including E-Waste master plan? No
Provide a list of channels through which the city communicates with its residents on solid waste management issues (eg. website, newsletter, radio, social media, etc …). Also indicate how often each channel is used Radio - once in a while, PA System - once in a while, Meetings - once in a while
What are the key messages or information provided to the public ? (eg. education on littering, source separation or waste reduction etc.) Education on littering, Paying for waste, indiscriminate disposal, encouraging seperation at source
Provide a list of channels through which the city collects feedback from it residents on issues related to solid waste services. (eg. Annual surveys, dedicated telephone line, Mobile phone Applications, social media, etc …) Workers telephone lines, yeary evaluations, open door policy
Provide a summary of key solid waste information made periodically available to the public (eg. Annual budget, waste collection coverage rates, recycling rate, etc..) Collection fees, status of solid waste in the district, Annual budget
Does the city have a contract with one or more private firms for waste management? No
Does the contract cover waste collection? n/a
Does the contract cover waste transport n/a
Does the contract cover waste disposal n/a

The priorities for E-waste management which have been identified by Choma are focused on 2 principle themes – protection of human health; and conservation of resources.  Associated with these themes are series of specific objectives which are set out below.

 

Protection of Human Health:

  • 1)  Sensitise the public on safety and health issues related to open burning and handling of E-waste
  • 2)  Provide capacity building to workers: training on safe E-waste collection, transportation and storage techniques.  Thereafter ensure regular training to workers.
  • 3)  Reduce burning occurrences
  • 4)  Ensure collection services, certified treatment plants and storage facilities must have hazard preventative measures in place and safe E-waste depollution procedures

 

Conservation of Resources:

  • 1)  Establish a central storage space for collected E-waste with proper management
  • 3)  Provide collection service (door to door or deposit points) for every zone of the District
  • 4)  Achieve 2.5t/100,000 population per year of E-waste collected
  • 5)  Collected E-waste must be checked for re-use and repair first before sending to certified treatment plants
  • 6)  Achieve 3t/100,000 population per year of E-waste collected
  • 7)  Achieve 3.5t/100,000 population per year of E-waste collected

 

In addition to the above objectives associated with principle themes for E-waste management, Choma is pursuing a series of overarching objectives which are set out below:

  • 1)  Establish an information management system
  • 2)  Design an E-waste management system: design paper including financing mechanisms prepared
  • 3)  Fully implement the designed E-waste management system
  • 4)  Ensure all collected E-wastes are sent to certified treatment plants
  • 5)  Evaluate the performance of the E-waste management system and adjust system design
  • 6)  Fully implement the required adaptations according to the adjusted system design of the E-waste management system
  • 7)  Ensure the E-waste management system is well functioning

 

No Files Available

Translate »