Environmental Act that avoid littering

The Environment Management Act which has been put in place by the Zimbabwean government safeguards against littering and destroying of nature in anyway. The Environmental Management Agency (EMA) which has since replaced the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) prohibits environmental degradation which is not observed by many urban residents and small scale miners at large.

Littering is anything thrown away as unwanted material and accumulate as garbage. In towns people create litter from food left overs, empty containers, plastic papers, broken bottles, waste papers, construction rubbles, and scrape metal. EMA board encourages individuals in urban area to be responsible by keeping the environment clean. The City of Gweru has an Act that discourages residents to dump waste all over. An official from the council told Caven Masuku, that Section 28 gives the mandate to fine offenders for littering in an underdeveloped land. The Gweru City Council has been currently charging a penalty fee for breaching Level (1:5) for littering in undesignated area.

In May 2006, the Zimbabwe Lion Insurance Company (ZIMNAT) donated refusal bins to the City of Gweru in a bid to keep the city clean. One of the officials of Gweru City Council who requested anonymity said that “The fine for littering is too little hence it is waste of time to chase after offenders and it is expensive to maintain the police force against revenue collected to guard against the perpetrators”.

The EMA board has it that it is every person’s right to have a clean environment. EMA (Cap 20:27) forbids littering and any one found on the wrong side of the law is liable to prosecution.

The Act also emphasizes that the polluter pays the principle which emphatically stresses the environmental cost to be metered by those responsible. Anyone causing littering should meet the cost for cleaning up and other related damages such as the effects of disease outbreak.

People are encouraged not to throw litter through windows and doors of private or public vehicles. It is everyone’s responsibility to discard litter at a place which has been specially set aside for that. Newspapers, empty bottles containers can be collected and sold to companies that recycle waste material. A clean environment is important for our health and everyone should seriously keep the city clean.

A clean environment means a clean mind therefore our health can be reinforced by tiding up our homes and towns