The main aim of the public engagement was to bring to the public attention the importance of waste management, the plight and challenges faced by the waste workers in Uganda and the importance of providing decent working conditions to this critical sector. A total of 110 reflector overalls and gloves were given to the waste workers who are employed by the two local governments.

Waste workers in the City and Town council shared their plight. For instance, in Mbale City, the workers decried the poor working conditions, including lack of PPEs and adequate working equipment, delayed salaries (that had not been paid for close to six months) and very low wages of less than $30 (thirty dollars) per month. It was also observed that majority of the waste management workers were older persons ranging between the age of 45 to 60 years old. All workers hired had no gloves, overalls or gumboots.

It was observed that Mbale city, for instance, was littered with a large amount of garbage. The majority of the waste was a result of polythene bags of less than 30 microns. These were use despite the government ban. Additionally, some of the private contractors that were given the contract to collect waste in some of the government health centres had not undertaken this task for over a year. The workers in the health centre noted that non-collection of medical waste was putting their lives at risk.

The PSI affiliates called upon the local government authorities to value the work of the waste workers. Sister Agatha Namirembe, Chairperson of Uganda Public Employees Union (UPEU) that  represents workers in the water sector, observed that when waste is poorly managed and disposed, the same affects the water sources. The implications of contaminated water sources are high costs of water purification that are ultimately passed on to public users. The unions met with officials and politicians, including the Mayors of Mbale and Namutumba, as well as the administrative staff led by the Town Clerk. They urged them to adopt a waste management ordinance to regulate waste collection and disposal. They also urged for political will to join the unions in their call on the government to adopt a national policy on waste management instead of letting each local authority/city work in silos, each enacting its own ordinance. Additionally, the administrative wing was asked to provide a formal contract to all waste workers and to ensure that the working relationship between the health and environment departments is harmonised to ensure a concerted effort towards waste management.

The political and administrative wing appreciated the PSI affiliates, PSI and DGB BW for providing the PPEs which is actually their responsibility and pledged to do better in waste management. They however, decried the challenge of low funds allocation and delay in release of the same by the central government that had exacerbated the situation including delayed payment of salaries to the said workers. 

The public event was covered in the major media televisions and other media outlets in Uganda.