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Every Flood in Kampala Is a Waste Management Report Nobody Filed

The channels do not fail because the rain is unprecedented. They fail because of what is in them.

By Ronald SekamatteKampala5 min read
A flooded urban drainage channel in Kampala clogged with plastic waste beside market stalls after heavy rain
Kampala. 27 July 2026.
MixedEnvironment

Rainfall intensity in the capital has increased, but the flood line moves fastest where collection is weakest. Traders in the affected markets can name the blockage points before the water arrives.

Collection, not campaigns

Awareness drives are cheap and visible. Scheduled collection in unplanned settlements is expensive and invisible, and it is the variable that actually correlates with what ends up in the channel.

We sweep, we sort, and then there is no truck. So it goes into the water.
Market vendor, Kampala

Recycling aggregators say the material has value once it is separated at source, but the collection economics only work where households are within reach of a paid route.

Sources & further reading
  1. National Environment Management Authority - NEMA Uganda
  2. Kampala Capital City Authority - KCCA
  3. Uganda Bureau of Statistics - UBOS
Ronald Sekamatte
Environment Correspondent, Kampala

Ronald Sekamatte reports on waste management, drainage and urban environmental risk in and around the capital.

  • Solid waste
  • Urban flooding
  • Environmental regulation
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