DAR ES SALAAM: The National Environmental Management Council (NEMC) has urged citizens countrywide to have the practice of separating hazardous waste from solid waste in different containers for the protection of their health and that of the environment.
Speaking at the ongoing 48th Dar es Salaam International Trade Fair (DITF) popularly known as Sabasaba, Eng. Beatitude Sizya from NEMC said that the mixing of hazardous and solid waste is dangerous for the health of the people and the environment, and asked those who have hazardous waste and do not know how to handle them, to visit the Council for more guidance.
“We ensure that citizens are educated on the effects of mixing wastes, every waste has to be separated,” the Engineer emphasized.
Commenting on environmental protection, Ms Suzan Chawe, Senior Sociology Officer at NEMC, said that presently the process of obtaining an environmental impact assessment (EIA) certificate is being conducted fast and transparently since all activities are carried out online.
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“It is very easy now for citizens to track the stage that the process has reached and it is also easy to get answers or feedback as to what is needed if there is any problem with their application or perhaps there is a missing document. Things are conducted swiftly,” she stated.
Moreover, the NEMC asked owners of development projects in the country to pay their annual environmental fees so as to enable the council to increase awareness on environmental issues and conduct environmental inspections on time as well as helping them to identify the effects early before they have an impact on people and the environment.
NEMC was established with a broad mandate in response to the national need for such an institution to oversee environmental issues and also implement the resolutions of the Stockholm Convention (1972), which called upon all nations to establish and strengthen national environmental Councils to advise governments and the international community on environmental issues.
