Overview

Zambia is situated at the crossroads of Central, Southern, and East Africa, between eight countries, and as such is referred to as the “wild heart of Africa”. Zambia is endowed with many natural resources, including copper, gold, silver, zinc, and cobalt. The country has a population of about 20 million (as of 2021) and a GDP of USD 22 billion (as of 2022) with the economy depending largely on mining.

Pollution Issues

Solid Waste 
Waste generated from all sectors of the country´s economy is currently not well-managed. There are few disposal sites in the various districts with that also being poorly managed. Waste components are usually mixed without any form of segregation and dumped in places not designated for disposal. A lot of domestic and industrial waste in most urban areas lie uncollected. 
The inappropriate and unsafe handling of both municipal and industrial wastes including hazardous waste often pollutes the environment and affects human health. Managing the diverse types of waste has been challenging and the lack of proper management such as open dumping and burning leads to the outbreak of diseases such as cholera, dysentery, malaria, pollution of waterbodies, air, soil, and various aspects of the environment. Despite the efforts of local authorities to ensure proper management of waste, the limited financial capacity, lack of trained people, lack of awareness, etc. make it difficult for effective waste management.

E-Waste
Zambia faces various pollution and social issues due to the lack of adequate management of electronic waste (e-waste). E-waste has hazardous components and so when it is dumped in landfills improperly or burnt, the hazardous components have the potential of posing health risks to people and degrading the environment. For instance, the hazardous materials in e-waste can leach out of the landfills into groundwater and other water bodies, and the components that are burned emit dioxins into the atmosphere. The country lacks the needed expertise and facilities to adequately handle e-waste, the consumers of electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) have little or no knowledge of the toxic components of e-waste and how to appropriately handle such waste. Other challenges faced by Zambia in adequately managing e-waste include the lack of funds and investment, lack of recycling technologies, and inefficient infrastructure.

In Zambia, the common electrical devices that accumulate as e-waste in the country include: TVs, phones, laptops, phone batteries, remote control batteries, and kitchen appliances. It is identified that the volumes of e-waste in the country increase annually and hence there is an urgency in the creation of more effective and efficient ways of managing e-waste. Zambia seems to be performing well in managing waste, however e-waste has proved to be one of the most challenging waste type to manage.

References

https://www.unep.org/technical-highlight/zambia-invests-lasting-solutions-chemicals-and-waste-management-issues#_ftn1
https://agsprogramme.org/app/uploads/2023/02/Zambia-Circular-Economy-Market-Study-23-02-2023.pdf
https://dicf.unepgrid.ch/zambia/pollution#section-impacts
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/turning-trash-treasure-potential-waste-to-energy-zambia-haigh#:~:text=Zambia%2C%20like%20many%20other%20developing,collected%20and%20disposed%20of%20properly.
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/turning-trash-treasure-potential-waste-to-energy-zambia-haigh