OMDTZ and Green WastePro Ltd (GWPL)–a private company specializing in waste management with the aim to offer eco-friendly solutions in cleaning and waste management—partnered in August 2018 to provide datasets for waste management. They mostly operate on formal settlements using robust barcode stickers developed specifically for their clients. The company needed a digital methodology to obtain clients’ information including locations, clients’ contacts, etc, so they can track clients and provide services accordingly. The OMDTZ team collected building data for each structure (resident/client) using robust barcode stickers placed at each unit completing a survey gleaned along with some amenity information. 

A total of 4706 clients mapped and around 4500 client data points are used by the company to collect trash. The results show that simply knowing the location of clients creates a sustainable business model for solid waste management companies in Dar es Salaam. 

Following a successful result of the project in Dar es salaam, the company is extending the project to Dodoma to support waste management in this growing city and see how the data can be used by the municipal council for revenue collection. But due to the spread of COVID-19, the project has been postponed until further notice.

On the other hand, OMDTZ tried to replicate the method done in the formal setting and try it on informal settings so we can have a clear picture of the variations of waste collection methods between the two settings. We conducted a pilot mapping in Tabata ward and worked with Joshemi Company — a trash collection company that mainly based on informal settlement.

The challenges of this assignment included working with revenue collectors, which were a bit hesitant to provide full collaboration as they were fraudsters and printing counterfeit receipts. So they believed if the company is provided with reliable data and the exact number of clients under service, their stealing methods would be revealed. So they did not collaborate and the company fired them.

To solve this challenge, we shifted from working with revenue collectors to shina leaders, famously known as “wajumbe” – the hyper-local leaders (the most granular level of administration that exists in Tanzania). These leaders are responsible to administer a small cluster of houses ranging from 50 to 200 houses, and they are citizens’ primary point of contact. So working with them is an advantage as they are well known and trusted by the community and we managed to collect data in an effective manner.

Timeline

Phase one August to November 2018 and phase two June to July 2019

Funding and Implementation

The project was implemented in two phases–phase one which was funded by GWPL and HOT, and phase two funded by GWPL after a successful result from phase one.