The city of Ezulwini in Eswatini is implementing at-source waste segregation with a youth-driven programme
Eswatini, formerly Swaziland, is a small, landlocked country bordering South Africa on three sides and Mozambique to the east. With a population of 1.2 million — similar to a mid-sized Indian city — the country generates 700 tonnes of waste daily, with a per capita waste generation of 139.7 grammes per day.
Despite the dispersed population and relatively low waste generation, open dumping and waste burning are rampant. Regular waste collection only covers 16 per cent of the population, with an additional per cent receiving irregular collection.
While Eswatini has established national waste regulation acts and the Ministry of Tourism and Environmental Affairs is set to enforce a nationwide ban on plastic carry bags from December 2024, most municipalities are still in the process of drafting effective waste management bye-laws.
So far, Mbabane is the only city with enacted bye-laws, though Ezulwini is nearing completion of its own municipal bye-laws on solid waste management. These new regulations are expected to cover essential mandates, including source separation, regular waste collection, processing and scientifically sound disposal practices.
Waste profile of Ezulwini city
In November 2023, the Ezulwini Municipal Council launched a transformative source-separation programme to improve the city’s solid waste management efforts. The Council initiated a comprehensive awareness campaign targeting ward number 4, encouraging the community to segregate household waste into recyclables and general waste.
Through social media outreach and radio ads, residents were informed and urged to participate. Recyclables include materials such as plastics, metals and paper, while general waste includes organic matter and non-recyclables.
Though participation is voluntary, the programme has received strong community support. The Council recruited 20 volunteers, primarily unemployed youth from Ezulwini, to assist with public education and waste handling.
Each volunteer is responsible for educating and collecting waste from approximately 25 households every Monday. On Tuesdays, they help further sort and transport recyclables to Buy-Back Centres, which sell the materials mainly to companies in South Africa. Volunteers receive travel and food allowances, underscoring the Council’s commitment to fostering sustainable practices.
Since the launch of this one-on-one information, education and communication drive, residents have begun segregating waste as directed, achieving 95 per cent coverage in door-to-door collection. To promote the programme, the Municipality posted a flyer across social media platforms, sent text messages to ward no 4 residents and property owners and conducted door-to-door flyer distribution during routine waste collection schedules.
As of now, 340 out of around 500 households in the ward participate in the programme.
The city’s waste collection system now handles an average of 6.1 tonnes daily. Participating households receive transparent plastic bags for recyclables, which volunteers collect every Monday. On Tuesdays, municipal staff from the Public Health and Environment Department collect residual or non-recyclable waste.
Currently, wet waste is combined with general waste due to the lack of municipal land for processing. To manage some wet waste, Ezulwini Municipality has linked certain commercial establishments to a local women’s cooperative, which transforms food waste into compost and liquid fertiliser, supporting organic food production within the community.
At present, the city lacks a dedicated collection system for domestic hazardous waste, which is still disposed of with general waste. Ezulwini operates separate vehicles for recyclable and general waste collection, employing two compactors and two skip trucks for non-recyclables and a 4-tonne truck for recyclables.
This dual-vehicle approach ensures contamination-free collection and transportation, enhancing waste management efficiency. The city collects approximately 442 kg of recyclables weekly through this programme.
Steps involved in the source waste separation programme by Ezulwini Municipal Council, Eswatini
Collected recyclables are stored at a facility located in a municipal public space, currently used as an Agroecology Training and Demonstration Centre, where garden waste is composted and demo gardens are set up. Recyclables are then sold to a recycling company in Mbabane, just 7 km from the city. Although the city has generated $112 in revenue, a cost-benefit analysis will be conducted once the programme attains a degree of sustainability.
The proposed bye-laws for solid waste management prioritise source segregation as a key mandate, defining clear responsibilities for waste generators and incorporating potential penalties and incentives to ensure compliance.
Ezulwini has seen enthusiastic community engagement from local councilors, volunteers, residents, and other stakeholders, which has inspired the Municipal Council to consider a series of forward-looking steps:
pass the bye-law to make source segregation mandatory,
Intensifying civic education to ensure behaviour change
Increase the program reach to ensure city-wide coverage and participation
invest in processing equipment like balers to save storage space as land is a scare resource
These steps underscore the Council’s long-term vision for a structured, sustainable waste management system that benefits both the community and the environment.
Mayor Refiloe Mamogobo expressed gratitude to Delhi-based think tank Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) for their skill development support, which strengthens the Council’s efforts to achieve 100 per cent source separation of waste.
With limited waste disposal options, the Council relies on landfill services from Matsapha Town Council, 23 km away — a costly arrangement with weighbridge fees, vehicle wear and tear and reduced service efficiency, which ultimately impact residents. The source-separation programme aims to minimise landfill volumes and alleviate these challenges.
While the programme faces challenges, including limited awareness, some residents’ reluctance or inaccessibility and a lack of ownership, it has achieved significant successes: strong buy-in from councillors, effective early-stage door-to-door education, consistent promotion and support from household helpers and gardeners. Regular civic education has also reinforced understanding and boosted participation.
Ezulwini’s programme is a pioneering model in Africa. Source separation preserves recyclables’ economic value while easing the logistical burden on local authorities by reducing collection, transport and sorting costs. Local solutions for wet waste management, such as composting or biomethanation, could enhance this model by converting waste into resources within the community.
Proposed bye-laws give source segregation a central role, assigning clear responsibilities for waste generators and considering penalties and incentives to encourage compliance. Unlike municipalities in countries with more decentralised governance, such as India, Eswatini’s local governments operate under national regulations, making changes to local bye-laws a complex process.
Nonetheless, Ezulwini Municipal Council is tackling this challenge, addressing one of the most critical but often overlooked aspects of global solid waste management: Source separation.
Through this ambitious programme, Ezulwini has advanced the city’s sustainability agenda and demonstrated local governments’ potential to drive global waste management innovation.