Impacts of waste management practices on water resources in harare

Poor municipal solid waste (MSW) management practices impact negatively on freshwater availability in terms of both quality and quantity. A review on the MSW practices currently being practiced and their impacts on water resources management in Harare was carried out to give recommendations towards sustainable MSW management and reduce the pollution of water bodies. There is urgent need for the development and implementation of a local level integrated MSW management plan tapping from the national plan that was pronounced in 2014. Such a plan should incorporate material and energy recovery with the best option combining anaerobic digestion of biodegradable MSW and incineration of the non-biodegradable MSW fraction. Legislative reforms to enforce source separation, the prohibition of dumbing waste at dumpsites together with the landfilling of biodegradable waste need to be urgently institutionalized.