For years, open spaces in Budiriro and Mufakose had become synonymous with the pungent smell of rotting garbage. Illegal dumpsites, known locally as minda yemarabha, had become hazardous landmarks, posing serious health risks and degrading the community environment.
Today, however, the air is clearer and the streets are visibly cleaner.
Residents and informal traders in these high-density suburbs are breathing a collective sigh of relief, heaping praise on Geo Pomona Waste Management for a comprehensive clean-up initiative that is restoring sanitation and dignity to their neighbourhoods.
The company, which is spearheading the Pomona waste-to-energy project, has extended its operations to tackle long-standing waste accumulation in residential areas, bringing much-needed relief to communities that felt forgotten.
‘We Can Finally Let Our Children Play Outside’
In Budiriro, the change is palpable. At what was once a sprawling dumpsite near Budiriro 4 Shopping Centre, children are now playing football on the cleared ground.
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"We were living in constant fear of diseases like cholera and typhoid," said Mrs. Evelyn Moyo, a mother of three and a Budiriro resident for over a decade. "The smell was unbearable, and we had a massive problem with flies and rats. We couldn't even open our windows."
She expressed her gratitude for the recent intervention. "Since the Geo Pomona trucks started coming, it’s like we have our neighbourhood back. The trucks are consistent, and they didn't just take the bins; they cleared the entire illegal dump. We can finally breathe fresh air and let our children play outside without worry. We are so grateful."
The positive impact extends to the bustling informal markets, which are the lifeblood of these communities. Vendors, who had to previously operate next to mounds of refuse, say the clean environment is already improving their business.
Samuel Chikwama, who sells vegetables at a market stall in Mufakose, gestured to a newly cleaned area.
"It was embarrassing. How do you convince someone to buy fresh food when there are flies everywhere coming from a mountain of garbage just metres away?" he asked.
"Customers were complaining, and frankly, we were also getting sick from the smell. Geo Pomona has done a wonderful job for us," Mr. Chikwama added. "A clean market attracts more customers. It shows respect for us as businesspeople and for the people we serve. This is a very welcome development."
The clean-up operation has been noted for its thoroughness. Residents observed that Geo Pomona deployed not only refuse compactors for household waste but also front-end loaders and tipper trucks to clear the large, accumulated backlogs that had blighted the suburbs for months, and in some cases, years.
"They didn't just do a surface job," commented a community leader from Mufakose, Amos Marara. "They came with heavy-duty machinery and cleared dumpsites that had been here for so long, we had lost hope they would ever be removed. This commitment to making our area genuinely clean is what we are applauding."
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