Research has proven that unlike other types of waste that biodegrade, plastic takes over 500 years to decompose and its longevity to decompose depends on its material. This means wherever plastic is littered, the soil may not be fertile as the plastic suffocates not only the soil but also the species inhabiting that part where the plastic has polluted and further caused harm to the environment. 

Plastic pollution is dangerous and negatively affects both land and marine life as it chokes starves and drowns species underwater. Plastic pollution thus causes a serious negative impact on the health of human beings and all living things.

 It is not a surprise that plastic pollution has become an imperative topic and an emergency to combat and safeguard the ecosystem Looking at how easily accessible and widely used plastic is in the world.

According to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), 280 million tons of short-lived plastic products become waste annually. UNEP further reveals that over 46% of plastic waste is landfilled while 22% is mismanaged and littered hence damaging soil and poisoning groundwater. 

As a result, managing waste is the only option available to protect the environment and humankind. According to UNDP Liberia Environment and Energy Programme specialist, Moses Massah, proper management of waste decreases greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution. 

Massah says UNDP supports initiatives that protect the environment because “if we as inhabitants of the environment are harming it, the environment will also harm us. What we experience currently is the response of the environment towards our action of being harmful to it”. He says, referring to climate change. 

UNDP Liberia’s support towards environmental protection

In September 2023, UNDP Liberia through its low-value grant procurement process, recruited the Center for Peace Building and Democracy Liberia (CEPEBUD-LIB) to implement a waste management project in five (5) cities/districts in Lofa County. 

The function of the CEPEBUD includes supplying waste management equipment to local authorities in the cities and educating or creating awareness on waste management, particularly plastic. The project is implemented in Salayea, Zorzor, Kolahun, Foya and Bakedu.

The CEPEBUD Program and Policy Advisor, Davestus James says the project conducted waste management awareness sessions with representatives of the city councils and local government leaders at the beginning of the project in September 2023.

He says to improve the project's implementation, equipment such as tractors or tricycles is needed to improve the collection and disposal of waste to designated landfill sites in the cities. 

The beneficiaries in these towns where the waste management project is implemented also reiterated appeals that in addition to the cleaning equipment they received from the project, they need tricycles or tractors to ease waste collection to marked landfill sites. They also say they need more dustbins to be able to separate waste according to its type to allow those who want to recycle to do so.

“To have a tractor or tricycle will help to improve waste collection and we believe it will be more effective because we can collect waste more often in a week,” says Paul R. Kolama, District Council of Zorzor.

Kolama added that although the project has supported awareness campaigns and provided equipment for waste collection, solid waste is becoming equally hard to manage. Thus, he is appealing for the provision of more trash bins and capacity-building training on waste management. 

The challenge in Zorzor is that the landfill site is very close to the school and the community fears that it may eventually cause illnesses to the children there. While in Foya, the people resort to gathering waste in a place very close to families before taking it to the remote landfill site.

Although landfill sites are common ways of waste management and disposal, it is also disadvantageous to the environment and humankind as it is one of the causes of climate change and contaminates soil and water. In addition, on landfill sites accidents such as fire explosions occur therefore injuring those around it or living close to it.

Waste Situation in Liberia

In Liberia, one of the worst enemies of the environment is plastic as it is widely used daily for various purposes including water packaging and use for shopping. Bottled and plastic contained water, getting it for free while shopping in supermarkets and from street vendors.

All of these plastics are carelessly littered all over including into the ocean. Even though the city councils try to keep the cities clean, it is in vain as daily plastics pile up and fly all over.

Talking about the dangers of plastic littering, Massah says unmanaged plastic in Liberia threatens life underwater and equally so to life on land. He explains in his various meetings with beneficiaries that the amount of plastic that is daily thrown into the ocean will soon lead to fishing plastics instead of fish as plastic kills fish, other animals, and plants underwater.

Massah says once humankind no longer finds fish while fishing, that means loss of jobs and income to thousands of families surviving on fishing. He says it also means that nutrition will equally be affected, and there will be a loss of medicinal plants and animals under water which will negatively affect medical or pharmaceutical industries.

 However, in Foya City the plastic situation is voluntarily managed by the locals who say they recycle plastic for agricultural purposes. In Foya, the local authority has asked people to voluntarily partake in a weekly cleaning campaign of the city on Thursdays.

The Chairman of the city corporation, Mohammed Keita noted that the trash bins provided by the CEPEBUD are placed in key areas in the city and volunteers are working close to where they are placed to look after them to control stealing or misuse of the bins.

Keita notes that every evening the bins are collected back to the council offices and are placed in the city again the following day. He says the local authorities also support the initiatives taken to keep the city clean and the paramount chief has since recommended that there should be fines for anyone who litters in the city.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Assistant Manager of Planning, James Z. Aquoi urges the beneficiaries to continue keeping their environment clean and to always seek advice and help from the EPA offices in their cities. He says managing waste and keeping their cities clean is for their safety and benefit.