The Trashy Side of Zambia

Zambia is a beautiful place,  but some corners of it are just plain trashy.  It’s hard to think that the nation that is home to half of Victoria Falls, incredible forests, endemic species of antelope, and other things that make you say, “Wow!” or “Huh?! That’s incredible!” is also home to piles of strewn about trash.

There are some trash pick-up services in the bigger cities, but not many people use those.  No one enforces where trash (or rubbish as it’s sometimes called – thank you British people) is disposed of, so people throw their bags, bottles, and everything else out the window or doorway.  Sometimes it gets swept up, sometimes blown away by the wind, and sometimes it just gets crushed and pounded into the ground.  I’ve never been able to fully understand why it isn’t disposed of directly into a pit, like what can sometimes be found in villages, but it isn’t.

Kids in the village helping their father burn a pit full of old trash.  It was like watching kids form Lord of the Flies... the burning plastic made for beautiful color variations.

Mainly it gets pounded into the ground and at times it seems like the entire road surface is made up of crushed plastic Fanta bottles.  During the occasions that it is swept up people try to burn it.  That makes for some really wonderful sunsets full of yellows, oranges, reds, and the occasional purple.  You wouldn’t believe how beautiful pollution can be!  I’m not sure why that Native American in the old PSA from before my birth was crying… he should’ve just lit it all on fire, sat back, and watched the amazing hues.

Watch him in his little canoe:

Once I was talking to some travelers from the UK and they commented that they believed Zambia would be the most beautiful country in all of Africa if only the trash wasn’t so easily seen.  Sadly, it’s pervasive.  

Piles and piles of trash can be found in every community (cities, towns, etc.) of Zambia.  Oddly enough, trash in the village isn't all that bad.  Mainly, I think, it's because they don't buy a lot of plastic containers or pre-packaged things.

It’s so pervasive that I once heard a story about a volunteer that threw a bottle out of a car’s window.  When another volunteer asked why they did that, why not hold onto the bottle, the first volunteer responded, “If they don’t care about litter in their own country, why should I?”  Ugh… not the answer I would hope or want to hear.

Not everyone feels so indifferent about the trash situation here – local artists have tried bringing the issue to the public’s attention by creating different sculptures throughout Zambia (namely in Lusaka and Livingstone).  The artists have constructed wire-caged sculptures of rhinos and elephants and then filled their bodies with trash found around town.  Eventually wind and rain work the trash out of the sculptures and what’s left is a half-filled elephant with trash strewn about.  But, I like the idea.  I like it a lot!  Their hearts are in the right place.

Zambia is an incredibly beautiful place full of beautiful and wonderful people, but the trash situation here is gross.  It's unsightly, smelly, and something that I wish would go away rather quickly.

Zambia really is an incredibly beautiful nation, but the trashy side of Zambia sure is ugly beyond belief (I know this is often a problem in a lot of developing nations, but I live here - so, I'm going to complain and write about here).  Even if the trash gives me amazing sunsets it also makes me cringe – mainly during the other 12 hours or so of daylight.