Tanzania enhances waste recycling industry to address environmental challenges, create jobs

ARUSHA: TANZANIA is mulling the recycling of all solid and liquid waste being the country’s latest efforts to address effects of climate change and create employment in the process.

That was revealed here by the Minister of State, Office of the Vice President (Union and Environment) Engineer Hamad Masauni, during the special occasion to launch the national environment awareness week.

“According to official data, Arusha City alone yields over 550 tons of solid waste per day, on average and according to experts, more than 60 percent of the garbage can be recycled into useful and alternative usage including production of clean energy.” Masauni maintained.

“On average recycling the garbage in Arusha can employ over 5000 people directly,” he said.

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“Solid and liquid waste recycling can create a huge industry that will provide jobs to the young people in the country, thus solving the unemployment problem in Tanzania,” said Masauni, during the special clean-up exercise in Arusha.

On the other hand, deforestation remains the biggest environmental hazard in Tanzania and the Minister insisted that the country loses nearly 470,000 hectares of trees annually and therefore tree planting is no longer an option.

Towards the United Nations (UN) World Environment Day, which climaxes on the 5th of June 2026, Tanzania plans to observe the events at the nation levels in Dodoma region, where more than 2 million trees will be planted, according to the Minister, towards the national plans to plant 2 billion trees.

President Samia Suluhu Hassan will officially grace the World Environment Day celebrations in Dodoma where she will also launch the National Strategic Sustainable Environment Transformation Program.

Engineer Masauni believes the use of clean cooking energy such as gas and electricity and renewables like biogas and solar will help address the problem of massive deforestation in the country.

Tanzania, with support from the World Bank (WB), has already established an east and central African renewable energy training center in the Hai District of Kilimanjaro which operates under the auspices of Arusha Technical College.

Tanzania, through the Vice president’s office will use the world environment day to officially launch a national strategic sustainable environment transformation program, which will also entail issues of carbon trading, renewable energy and tree planting.

“It will also ensure that all urban areas must have greenbelts including public parks that have botanic gardens and well-preserved river banks,” the Minister revealed.

On his part, the Arusha District Commissioner, Joseph Modest Mkude said the city has already switched to clean cooking energy initiatives, and so far all public schools and other institutions are using LNG gas for cooking.