New biogas plant improves waste management in Kampala pig abattoir

Danilo Pezo of ILRI engages project staff and partners at the handover of a biogas plant at Wambizzi (photo credit: ILRI/Brian Kawuma).

Wambizzi, the only pig abattoir in Uganda is located in Nalukolongo, west of Kampala city and handles up to 150 pigs a day. It supplies a large proportion of the pork consumed in the city. But the facility has long been dogged by environmental issues stemming from poor waste management and excessive use of firewood for heating. Until recently, waste from the facility was dumped into a stream that flows through the neighbourhood or incinerated in a waste pit attracting the ire of neighbours and city authorities.

‘We have had a couple of run-ins with the Kampala Capital City authorities because of complaints about our waste disposal in the stream and the stench polluting the environment,’ says Justine Nabukeera, an executive committee member of the Wambizzi Pig Cooperative Society which manages the abattoir.

But things are…