The Mozambican Recycling Association (Amor) on Friday estimated that around 1,000 tonnes of various types of solid waste will be removed from the beaches of six Mozambican districts over the next two years to be recycled.
“We’re going to go ahead with the project to recycle solid waste in six districts, and in the next few years alone we’re going to be able to recycle around a thousand tonnes, as a way of combating the degradation of the environment and the marine ecosystem,” said Amor’s president, Stephane Temperman, speaking to journalists in Beira today.
According to Temperman, this is a project implemented by Amor with funding from the UK government and support from the Ocean Risk and Resilience Action Alliance (ORRAA), which aims to reduce the amount of solid waste along the country’s beaches, generating income for local communities by purchasing this waste in six local councils in the provinces of Maputo, Sofala, Inhambane and Cabo Delgado, all in coastal areas.
As well as contributing to the protection of biodiversity and the health of marine species, the project will also raise community awareness about rubbish disposal.
“There are a number of environmental issues that concern us (…) In concrete terms, we started these actions when I once heard from some people that they had fished for shrimp with a lot of rubbish. That’s why we need to create the conditions to reverse this situation through this project and other actions,” said Temperman.
He added that, in addition to cleaning the beaches, the initiative will help families, who will sell the solid waste removed from the beaches after weighing it, helping to strengthen the local economy.
The representative of Beira Municipal Council, Fernando Mavone, said that this is a project that will help clean up the country’s beaches, particularly those in Sofala province, contributing to reducing pollution and improving the environment, and he also assured the municipality would support this programme.
“The initiative is very good. We are prepared to give some assistance so that we can work in harmony. We hope that together we can improve the environment on our beaches, that people are more sensitised to this aspect, because a clean environment or beach is a safe place for all of us,” he concluded.
Source: Lusa
