Finland to Partner with Zambia on Circular Economy

Finland has expressed interest to partner with Zambia in exploring possibilities of collaborative arrangements on the resilient business innovations and Circular Economy for Municipal Solid Waste Management in all Councils.

This follows a bilateral meeting held between Ambassador of Finland to Zambia Saana Halinen, and a visiting Circular Economy Business Delegation from Finland, led by Deputy Mayor of the city of Tampere, IIkka Porttikivi, as well as Minister of Local Government and Rural Development Gary Nkombo.

The meeting later culminated in the tour of Chunga Dumpsite in Lusaka led by Permanent Secretary-Administration Maambo Haamaundu, to enable the Finnish delegation to appreciate solid waste management in Zambia.

Chunga Dumpsite is the only Government gazetted place for the solid waste disposal in Lusaka, and is operated by the Lusaka Integrated Solid Waste Management Company.

Speaking during the tour of the Dumpsite, Ms. Halinen said the Embassy of Finland in Lusaka, through the Circular Economy Business Delegation from her country, is ready to share best practices in the management of solid waste.

She stated that Finland is interested in exploring collaboration with Zambia in critical investment areas by utilizing waste to energy generation as and supporting more communities in income-generating activities using waste.

“The visiting companies from Finland have solutions to turn waste into energy, and other products, such as building blocks for affordable housing construction,” Ms. Halinen said.

She revealed that Pirkanmaan Jätehuolto, a publicly-owned company in charge of the municipal solid waste management in the wider Tampere region, is one of the companies from Finland interested in peer-to-peer learning and sharing of best practices in solid waste management in Zambia, covering the entire chain-process of recycling plastic waste, and refining it into finished products.

Meanwhile, Local Government Permanent Secretary Maambo Hamaundu said one of the critical interventions in improving solid waste management in Zambia, is the need to build capacities for all Local Authorities and providing them with more equipment as well as infrastructure to improve service delivery in communities.

Mr. Haamaundu cited how the Government had established the Lusaka Integrated Solid Waste Management Company, which is an autonomous Utility that is responsible for solid waste service provision.

“It is in the same vein that the Government is calling for more technical support to help other Local Authorities across the country in managing solid waste,” Mr. Haamaundu stated.

He emphasized the need to adopt a circular economy model where waste is minimized, reuse and recycling is prioritized in order to create a more sustainable and efficient system.

Mr. Haamaundu however, implored the business community and other solid waste generators to continue subscribing to the Lusaka Integrated Solid Waste Management Company for the collection of their solid waste.

In 2016, Finland became the first country in the World to launch a National Circular Economy roadmap, and is currently implementing its second roadmap.

Finland is also a forerunner in circular economy and has some innovation and technology to enable efficient reuse of waste resources.

This is according to a statement issued by Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development Public Relations Officer, Chila Namaiko.