Residents of the Kibaati cell in Hoima City East division held protests today expressing their disappointment in the Kibati garbage recycling plant authorities for continually dumping garbage on their plots of land. 

Hoima city east division which hosts the 2.5bililion Shillings nonfunctional waste recycling plant, have today morning held a protest accusing the city authorities of dumping garbage on their plots of land. The plant sits on three acres of land and has the capacity of processing 70 tons of garbage daily.

The Kibati garbage recycling plant Built-in 2012, with funding from the World Bank and National Environment Management Authority-NEMA, has remained nonfunctional due to a lack of electricity and running water.

The plant sits on three acres of land and has the capacity of processing 70 tons of garbage daily. Currently, the area is littered with garbage collected from different areas of the city.

Residents nearing the plant have protested asking the city authorities to stop dumping garbage on their land. Rosemary Baliremwa, a local leader in Kibati, says the act of dumping garbage on their plots of land has affected development in the area.

Baliremwa wants the Home City Council to revamp the defunct garbage recycling plant in order to avoid unnecessary dumping of garbage. 

Ramadan Erius Byonta the LC1 chairperson for Katutu cell said that the garbage issue has taken more than eight years with residents battling with the city council over poor garbage disposal.

Hoima East Division, which comprises the central business area, is the biggest generator of solid waste in Hoima City. The majority of the waste comes from the abattoir, the central market, restaurants, hotels, schools, factories, and other processing units in Kiryatete industrial area.

Esau Tagababyona the LC11 chairperson for Kabati said that the garbage plant is no longer functional and now the garbage is being dumped in people's plots and near their homes, causing an unbearable stench.

The Hoima Deputy Mayor Sylvia Nalumaga has asked for forgiveness from the residents of Kibbati also promising to work on the challenge they are facing.

She disclosed that they are planning to relocate the plant to another place that is not in the middle of the city but cites funds as a big challenge that is hindering them.

According to statistics obtained from the city authorities, the solid waste generation rate was between 150 to 200 tons per day in 2016. 34.6 per cent of the waste generated at the household level was food waste, about 26.8 per cent was plastic, paper, and cardboard, and about 23.9 per cent while the proportion of textiles in the waste was estimated at 7.8 per cent.