LOCAL government authorities must set up waste sorting and recycling points to ensure safe, sustainable waste management and reduce landfill overflow and litter in residential areas.

Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa issued this directive yesterday while addressing the Youth and Environment Forum at the library hall of the University of Dar es Salaam, as part of World Environment Day preparations for the June 5 event.

Local government authorities need to collaborate with the Vice President’s Office (Union and Environment) to develop plans that empower communities and youth to engage in carbon trading businesses, adopt clean energy technologies and promote recycling projects.

He said the forum is meant to unite youth across the country, build their awareness on environmental conservation and enable their active participation in designing and implementing strategies to tackle environmental challenges facing Tanzania.

He urged citizens, communities and the private sector to strengthen the ongoing environmental cleanliness campaign, conducted every last Saturday of the month, and build recycling systems for industrial waste to ensure that manufactured products do not harm the environment.

“As we approach World Environment Day on June 5, it is important for young people to recognize their role in the environmental agenda through this platform. This Youth and Environment Forum should serve as a catalyst for innovation, increasing awareness, and mobilizing the nation’s workforce to protect and conserve our environment,” the premier declared.

 “Environmental cleanliness and waste management are critical environmental challenges that require deliberate and urgent action. Statistics indicate that Tanzania generates 14.4m to 20.4m tons of solid waste annually, especially in major cities and towns. However, only about 50 percent of this waste is collected for proper disposal,” he stated.

Advancements in science and technology present opportunities to transform these challenges into youth employment, economic growth and individual income generation, he said, urging the participating youth to fully engage in environmental conservation and management activities.

They need to recognize these activities as opportunities to create jobs and increase income, he said, highlighting that on May 28 during his visit to Japan, an accord was signed for joint investment in the carbon credit business.

It will expand carbon market opportunities within the country, while setting up the National Carbon Monitoring Center was another step to collaborate with environmental stakeholders, he said.

Hamza Khamis, the Union and Environment deputy state minister, affirmed that the government has made significant efforts in environmental protection, in directing each local council to plant not less than 1.5m trees annually. “We used to say waste is dirt, but now waste is wealth and a solution for youth engagement in environmental matters,” he added.