It is pleasing to note how the different agencies are working on trying to promote environmental initiatives in their areas and spheres of influence. The following link is to a news paper article in Herald Newspaper in Zimbabwe http://www.herald.co.zw/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=45037:recycling-the-answer-&catid=41:business&Itemid=133. The article caught my attention as i realised that their focus was on the issues of how the waste generated will result in diseases such as cholera and typhoid. To me this made me realise how there was a link between the waste generated and where it is disposed of with the water resources hence needing the understanding how the waste management sector can be considered as a stakeholder when water resources plans are being established. This leads to the question in the developing countries why has it taken so long to realise the importance of the process of recycling and how it being introduced has a significant impact to the water resources. The impact of this may be after a significant investment but like what most philosophers say "No pain no gain."
As water professionals or members of the communities what are we doing to promote recycling and in turn protect our water resources because the more we produce waste the more it has become evident that the councils are failing to cope with the waste that is being produced hence money is channeled to other sector which will have taken centre stage at that particular moment. It can also be said that with the current situation the problem with most organisations in developing countries is that they are mostly re active and hence are not in the business of planning on the forthcoming issues. This in most cases this has been due to absence of funding to be able to introduce proactive initiatives for example recycling. There is need for policies and laws to be implemented to allow the utilisation of recycled materials. Working in the irrigation sector we were exposed to a company that was dealing in High Density Poly Ethane (HDPE) but using recycled materials. Funny thing was their prices where reasonably lower but it was not the company that sold most of the product by virtue of people not aware of the impact that the using recycled material would have in the long run.
Coming to the issue of Real Estate i have come to the realisation that at household level there is little that is being done and the problem has significantly affected the water resources management. The detrimental effects when it comes to the Real Estate sector is the loss in the aesthetic state of an area. With respect to the sector the appearance of a property has proven to be a significant trait that allows a property to be sold or leased quicker than others. Another issue that has also been a problem with respect to the absence of recycling in the different properties is the disposal of the solid waste in the drainage systems. In recent years in countries like Zimbabwe the problem of urban flooding has mainly been propelled by the blockage of the drainage system which has the capacity of transporting high discharge which in most cases of late has been made to runoff on the surface leading to the destructive impacts that have been experienced.
So where do we stand in the field of IWRM and Real estate when it comes to issues of recycling. Is there anything that is being done to integrate the management of solid waste or we continue to work as sectors. The principle of integrated approach although has been advocated for there is need to sit down with all sectors. In a workshop i recently attended it was pleasing to note that as technocrats in the water sector we realised how significant it was to bring on board a wider base of stakeholders and not only the water professionals that were present. As a recommendation there is need for developing countries to move into more proactive strategies and recycling being one of them.
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