Interlinking municipal dumpsite management, environmental protection and human rights: Case of Masvingo, Zimbabwe created by Manasa Sibanda and Mandiedza Parichi

The world over, people’s right to a healthy, clean, and sustainable environment has been made precarious by local authorities’ quality of service delivery, particularly on solid waste management. There is little literature specifically on the issue of human rights and waste management in Masvingo’sRunyararo (Mucheke) WestMunicipalitydumpsite. This study looks at how the municipality operates its solid waste management, focusing onimplications on the human right to a healthy, clean and sustainable environment. A mixed methods approach was employed, where both qualitative and quantitative data were collected. To establish the level of compliance with policies, the study applied an evaluative approach. Results indicated that the establishment of the open dumpsite in 1998 complied with the Natural Resources Management Act (Chapter 20:13). However, after the enactment of the Environmental Management Act of 2002, it no longer conformed to the new law. Respondents consider the poor dumpsite management by the municipality as a lack of priority not capacity, as claimed by the municipality.Results also confirmed that the basic waste hierarchy of waste prevention, reduction, recycling was not being practiced. The absence of a parameter fence at the dumpsite was symbolic to free access by the public while exposing children to health risks. Notwithstanding the negative effects of the dumpsite on the human quality of life, self-employed waste recyclers consider the site as a convenient source of raw material and job creation. The study concluded that the management of the dumpsite by the municipality violated residents’ right to a healthy, clean, and sustainable environment. It recommended that the municipality should decommission the dumpsite