Jack, a council refuse collector, says he has found a lot of nasty surprises from his heaps of rubbish: Soiled toilet papers, used condoms and bloody clothes but the worst on his gross-o-meter is used sanitary pads.
With nowhere to dump used sanitary pads and condoms, residents of Gabane, Metsimotlhabe and Mmopane villages, have resorted to chocking the village bushes with their sanitary throwaways and council refuse collectors simply cover their noses and carry on with their work.
Local Government Minister, Margaret Nasha, told Parliament this week that “I am aware that some people secretly dispose of litter such as rubble, sanitary wastes, cans and bottles in bushes around Gabane, Metsimotlhabe and Mmopane villages. As they carry out these clandestine activities during the night, it has not always been easy to catch them.”
Nasha explained that there are no designated waste disposal areas in these villages, but the council collects refuse in these villages, for disposal at designated areas which, in this case, is Gaborone.
She says “it is not advisable to have disposal sites in each and every village since they have a potential to pollute the environment and are costly to operate.”
Nasha said the Ministry of Local Government is in the process of developing a regional landfill which will alleviate the problem of refuse disposal in the Gaborone, Kweneng and other areas within the region.
