Moramanga is home to the Ambatovy Mine site. As Ambatovy is committed to respecting the IFC performance standards and the national regulators’ laws, Ambatovy conducted an influx migration study in mid-2011. One of the results of this study showed that the project had intensified an already overcharged waste management situation in the urban center of Moramanga. With the high amount of traffic and increasing growth of the population, Ambatovy and the Community have realized a need for an effective waste management system. Although it is the responsibility of each municipality to fund and organize their waste management, the funds they collect through community taxes are not sufficient.
Initially, in late 2011, Ambatovy, in partnership with a local NGO, began to support the Commune Urbaine of Moramanga through funding a feasibility study, conducted by an independent firm from October 2011 to February 2012, on technical and financial options to implement an urban waste management system in the city. The results of the study were discussed in a meeting that included representatives of the Alaotra Mangoro Region, the executive head and members of the Commune urbaine, the chiefs of 13 fokontany that compose the city, representatives of the health district, and other economic and technical stakeholders. From this meeting an ad-hoc waste committee was established. The phases of the project have been outlined to include the initial pre-collection process, purchasing of a garbage truck, assisting in sustainability, and eventually enhancing the Landfill structure and organization.
Already, the preliminary phase of the pilot project, the pre collection process, has begun. Prior to implementing the house to house collection, all trash is being collected from the community dumpsters and deposited at the land fill. In the pre collection system, citizens of the community will pay a small fee to have their trash regularly collected from their homes. The money collected will be used to pay for the components of the collection service (salary wages, incentives, equipment, etc.). All waste will be taken to a land fill that has been established by the municipality and that is capable of receiving the volume of trash the community produces. There, members of DEFI, a local NGO, are on hand to sort the refuse into waste materials and compost components. The compost is sold back to the community for use in their farming activities and the proceeds then help contribute to the cost of the program.
This project is estimated to create 65 permanent jobs in the community. The successful processing and collecting of waste from the streets and neighborhoods of Moramanga will not only positively affect the image of the city, but also the health of its citizens while providing employment opportunities and sustainable measures for a cleaner future.
