Twin city aids new waste project in war-torn capital

A convoy carrying equipment to build a new waste management system in Freetown, Sierra Leone, left its twin city of Hull yesterday and work to install this badly needed infrastructure will begin next month.

The project, backed by Hull and East Riding Councils, also has donations of goods and services worth nearly £80,000 from East Yorkshire businesses.

It follows exchange visits between waste management officers from both cities which identified the need for “essential” infrastructure work as a result of Sierra Leone’s devastating civil war in the 1990s.

The equipment, which includes a sludge pump trailer and piping from Whale Tankers, 80 tyres from Brit Tyres, 1,200 pairs of gloves from Arco and 300 wheelie bins, also features protective suits for workers in Freetown who currently work naked when clearing slurry pits.

Hull’s Lord Mayor, Coun Colin Inglis, said: “The generosity of businesses in Hull is quite overwhelming and testament to the city’s commitment to helping our twin city to reconstruct itself after the ravages of war. We will all be following the project avidly and I look forward to providing regular progress reports.”