Tshole is a non-Governmental Organization mandated with the task of ensuring the collection of used oil in the country.
The trust says it is looking into following on the steps of other countries where for every liter collected, the collector gets some money, so that the sight of spilled oil would trigger the idea of selling to every citizen, especially the unemployed.
“Our data indicates that a total of 125 million liters of oil is imported into our country annually. Against this, only around 6000 liters are collected by local collectors who are actually business people,” explained Mopalo.
To set in motion the used oil recycling initiative, Tshole Trust is constructing large receptacles at landfills, and to ensure as more stakeholders as possible partake, the NGO is engaging municipal governments by way of signing Memorandums Of Agreement with these authorities.
It is said that empty tanks have been set up and are being set up at Ramotswa, Kanye, Serowe, Francistown, Kasane and Gamodubu landfills. Kanye, Ramotswa and Gamodubu have been sponsored by the National Environment Fund (NEF) while other places are sponsored by Global Environment Facility/Small Grants Program-United Nations Development Program (GEF/SGP-UNDP).
The current situation where people freely deposit used oil in receptacles is not helping the reckless spills common in populated areas where car repairs are done in ungazetted areas- like residential areas. Only those in business who collect it from receptacles and export it benefit, though not as much as their counter parts in other countries like South Africa.
This he said is done due to the fact that pollution of the environment by used oil is escalating, so much so that there even are suspicions that even portable water is contaminated. There are some findings, he said that suggest that there is under collection of used oil in the country. Furthermore, the coordinator expressed concern that though the government has implemented legislation to try and curb the problem of used oil pollution, it is not enough.
Link to publication: https://www.sundaystandard.info/tshole-trust-looks-into-turning-waste-oil-into-money/
