Today, June 13, 2023, marks the start of environmental week in Butembo, a city in North Kivu in the Democratic Republic of Congo, which aims to fight against plastic pollution by raising awareness among the local population. This week’s launch was announced by Terhya Awite, representative of the Mayor of Butembo, who actively encouraged this initiative. The representative of the urban authority praised the various partners who have collaborated to evacuate waste from the city and transform it into products such as paving stones, chemical fertilizers or fuel. He also recalled that the World Environment Day, celebrated every year on June 5, had been postponed to June 13 by the provincial authority.
This year’s theme is “Plastic pollution that impacts the soil, subsoil, air, water and many others”, and recycling partners such as Group Academia RDC, the Société des Cooperatives des Producteurs sur the Path of Change towards Agricultural Intensification (SOCOPROCHIA) and Women Engineers for Reconstruction-Design and Construction Office (FIR-BEC ASBL) have shown their support for the cause by calling on the population to adopt ecological behavior. They also underlined that the protection of the environment and public sanitation were the responsibility not only of the State, but also of each Congolese citizen.
The activities of the environmental week are focused on the placement of garbage bins in strategic places in the city, such as in front of the galleries and even in them. A bin is reserved for biodegradable waste and another for non-biodegradable waste. The recycling partners invited to raise awareness call on the population to sort waste to facilitate their work.
Butembo’s environmental week will be held until Saturday, June 16, 2023 and is an excellent opportunity for the Congolese population to become aware of the crucial role they can play in protecting the environment.