PS Atwine guides Kulambiro residents on waste management for health and money economy

22 August 2026, 12:49 am

By Byamukama Alozious

As Uganda prepares for the second National Cleaning Day on Saturday, 29 August 2026, the Ministry of Health has taken the cleanliness campaign to communities, encouraging residents to properly sort waste, turn it into economic opportunities and reduce health risks associated with poor waste management.

The National Cleaning Day, declared by government to take place on the last Saturday of every month, is part of efforts to improve sanitation, promote public health and encourage communities to take responsibility for their environment.

Ahead of the second national exercise, the Ministry of Health held a community cleaning and sensitisation exercise in Kulambiro, a Kampala suburb, where residents were guided on how to separate waste at household level and identify ways of turning some of the waste into income.

The exercise was led by the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Health, Dr Diana Atwine, who kept guiding residents on proper waste management and the health importance of maintaining clean surroundings

During the exercise, Dr Atwine guided residents on how to separate plastics, particularly water bottles, soda bottles and other plastic materials, from other household waste. She explained that the plastics can be collected and sold to recycling companies, creating an income opportunity for households and communities.

Residents were also guided to separate decomposable waste, including food remains, banana leaves and other organic materials. According to the guidance, such waste can be buried or composted and later used as manure instead of being mixed with plastics and taken to landfills.

Officials also encouraged residents to identify potential buyers who can make use of separated waste materials, including organic waste that can be used for manure and other products such as animal feeds.

The message to residents was that garbage should not only be viewed as waste but also as a potential source of income when properly separated and managed.

Dr Atwine also warned residents against burning garbage, particularly mixed waste containing plastics. She cautioned that burning plastics and other waste releases harmful pollutants into the air, exposing communities to health risks, including respiratory illnesses and other serious health problems.

She further explained that separating waste at source would reduce the volume of garbage being transported to landfills, easing pressure on disposal facilities.

This is particularly important following the Kiteezi landfill disaster, which claimed lives and renewed concerns about waste management and the pressure placed on Kampala’s waste disposal system.

Proper waste separation would also reduce the amount of garbage that needs to be transported to the new Buyala waste disposal site.

The Kulambiro exercise comes as government prepares for the second National Cleaning Day on 29 August, following the first national cleaning exercise held in July.

The Ministry of Health is encouraging households, markets, institutions and communities to make waste separation and proper disposal part of their daily routine, rather than treating cleanliness as an activity that only happens during the monthly national cleaning exercise.