Tanzania eyes massive waste recycling drive to boost green jobs

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

Minister of State in the Office of the Vice-President (Union and Environment), Engineer Hamad Masauni, revealed this during the launch of the National Environment Awareness Week.

“According to official data, Arusha City alone generates more than 550 tonnes of solid waste per day on average, and according to experts, more than 60 per cent of the garbage can be recycled into useful and alternative products, including the production of clean energy,” Masauni said.

“On average, recycling garbage in Arusha can directly employ more than 5,000 people,” he added. He noted that solid and liquid waste recycling could create a huge industry capable of providing jobs for thousands of young people, helping to address unemployment challenges in Tanzania.

Speaking during a special clean-up exercise in Arusha, Masauni also highlighted deforestation as one of the country’s biggest environmental threats.

He said Tanzania loses nearly 470,000 hectares of forest annually, emphasising that tree planting is no longer an option but a necessity.

Ahead of the United Nations World Environment Day celebrations on June 5, 2026, Tanzania plans to hold national commemorations in Dodoma Region, where more than two million trees are expected to be planted as part of the national target of planting two billion trees.

President Samia Suluhu Hassan is expected to officiate the World Environment Day celebrations in Dodoma, where she will also launch the National Strategic Sustainable Environment Transformation Programme.

Engineer Masauni said the use of clean cooking energy such as gas, electricity, biogas and solar energy would help reduce massive deforestation across the country.

He added that Tanzania, with support from the World Bank, has already established the East and Central African Renewable Energy Training Centre in Hai District, Kilimanjaro Region, under the Arusha Technical College.

Meanwhile, Arusha District Commissioner Joseph Mkude said the city has already embraced clean cooking energy initiatives, noting that public schools and other institutions are currently using LNG gas for cooking.