Hazardous waste to be temporarily stored at new specialised facility

The government is on course to strengthen the safe management of chemicals and hazardous waste, with its interim hazardous waste storage facility in Nduba nearing completion, according to the Rwanda Environment Management Authority (REMA). The facility, whose construction began in July 2025 after preparatory studies and engineering designs were completed, is now 83.93 per cent complete, according to a statement REMA shared with The New Times. Located in Nduba Sector, Gasabo District, the facility is designed to temporarily receive and safely store hazardous waste before it is transported to specialised treatment and final disposal facilities. Hazardous waste refers to discarded materials that can harm people or the environment because they are toxic, flammable, reactive or infectious. It comes from sources such as industries, hospitals, farms, laboratories, homes and construction sites and includes chemicals, pesticides, batteries, medical waste, used oil and electronic waste. Waste will be stored at the Nduba facility for a limited period while awaiting treatment or disposal at facilities specifically designed for that purpose. Once operational, the facility will have the capacity to receive 601.84 tonnes of hazardous waste annually, equivalent to about 50.15 tonnes per month or 1.65 tonnes per day. Poorly managed hazardous waste can contaminate soil, water and food, pollute the air and pose long-term health and environmental risks, as some substances take years to break down. “A lot is being done in Nduba since there is a project that has started. Waste should be sorted before disposal,” said Philippe Kwitonda, Director General of Land, Water and Forestry at the Ministry of Environment. He said poor waste management can contaminate soil and water sources, creating health risks. Hazardous waste management project underway The Decoupling Hazardous Waste Generation from Economic Growth in Rwanda project, being implemented by REMA and running until 2027, requires Rwf6.9 billion in financing. The project promotes reducing, reusing, recycling and recovering waste to minimise hazardous waste generation across priority industries and economic sectors. It also seeks to strengthen private-sector-led national waste treatment capacity to ensure the sound management of hazardous waste. ALSO READ: Rwanda unveils $221m plan for waste management, clean technologies The project is a collaborative effort involving the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), REMA and the Global Environment Facility. Environmental experts say facilities such as the one in Nduba can improve the traceability of hazardous waste, strengthen regulatory oversight and reduce illegal disposal by providing a controlled and secure storage environment. Paulin Buregeya, a waste management expert and Chief Executive Officer of COPED Ltd, said the facility is timely. “We were facing a challenge of getting a place for hazardous waste disposal. Leaving such waste in households and other places after detecting it means leaving people in danger. Even transporting it to landfill sites without special disposal facilities was dangerous. Some waste collectors were shying away from such waste,” he said. He called for the facility to be completed quickly to help curb health and environmental risks. “There is a need for private-sector involvement. After the storage facility, we can also add processing facilities. Hazardous waste comes from different sources, including households, electronic waste such as batteries, medical drugs left in households, toxic liquids such as leftover paints, body oil products and others,” he said. Call for disposal of mercury products, PCB oil Buregeya also called for greater attention to the disposal of mercury-containing products, including lamps. Rwanda is planning to store, manage and treat around 122 tonnes of PCB oil within five years. PCBs are chemical pollutants found in electrical transformers that can harm human health and the environment. The country is also planning to manage around three tonnes of persistent organic pollutant (POP) pesticides and 44 tonnes of non-POP pesticides. More than 35,000 tonnes of PBDE-containing waste, 250 tonnes of PCB-contaminated soil and 40 tonnes of mercury-containing waste will also be treated. Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) are a class of chemicals added to some manufactured products to reduce the risk of fire, while mercury is a naturally occurring element found in air, water and soil. Rwanda has also launched a nationwide initiative to collect and safely dispose of hazardous chemical waste from schools. A 2024 survey conducted by REMA across 197 secondary schools found 26,981.46 kilogrammes—nearly 27 tonnes—of expired chemicals requiring urgent disposal. ALSO READ: REMA issues warning over illegal importation of hazardous waste An additional 15.1 tonnes were identified in higher learning and research institutions. The Government is also disposing of ethanol that was recently banned because it is considered a hazardous chemical. High-tech waste sorting recommended Abdoul Razak Hamissou, the developer of the Smart Eco-Platform, said an artificial intelligence-powered waste management system is being piloted in Kigali to explore new ways of improving waste sorting, recycling and environmental monitoring. “The AI-powered waste sorting system scans every collected waste and tells whether it is hazardous, plastic, e-waste, paper or other waste before deciding the best way to dispose of it,” he said.

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Hazardous waste to be temporarily stored at new specialised facility