Wum
council has just embark on a new initiative so as to financially empower
inhabitants who are ready to keep the municipality clean. The Wum council
entails to give money to people in exchange for collecting discarded plastic
bags. In April 2014, a government ban on non-biodegradable plastic bags below 61 microns had
come into effect. The intention was to reduce the millions of bags being used
every day, which were clogging up waterways, creating an environmental hazard
for animals and humans, and damaging soil fertility.
But
many businesses complained that they had no alternative and a black market for
the bags flourished. Despite the ban, plastic waste remained a problem. Wum council
hopes that, the recent move could encourage people to clear it up by offering
FCFA 4,000 for every kilogram of dirty plastic collected, and FCFA 2,000 for
every kilogram of clean plastic collected.
However, the plastic collecting initiative is
more than just an environmental strategy. With unemployment high – and with
jobs being lost since the ban on plastic bags – the initiative is also aimed at
providing young people with a way to gain an income.
While
the initiative might provide a small temporary income for some unemployed inhabitants
of the Wum municipality, it cannot work out for everyone, and critics insist
that it is not a sustainable and lasting solution to the Wum municipality’s
high unemployment rate.
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