From Whiteboard to Action: Tackling Improper Waste Disposal for SDG 6

This week, our team moved from conversation to action.

We’re still in the early stages — whiteboards covered in rough sketches and ideas being challenged. But sometimes, the most important step is simply deciding to start.

During the recess sessions this week, as Group 17, we’ve been focusing on a problem that doesn’t always get the attention it deserves: improper waste disposal and its direct impact on clean water access.

A special session with our mentor Mr. Christopher Semambo

Why SDG 6?

SDG 6 isn’t just about taps and toilets. It’s about what flows into water sources before they ever reach a community. Improper waste disposal — whether plastic, chemical, or organic — contaminates groundwater, clogs drainage systems, and poisons rivers that entire regions depend on.

We realized that you can’t talk about clean water without talking about how waste is managed at the source.

Where We Are Now

This week’s development discussions centered on understanding local waste flow patterns and identifying the most critical intervention points. We’re not claiming to have solved anything yet — but we’ve asked the right questions, listened to the right voices, and mapped out a direction that feels both practical and necessary.

Some highlights from our early phase:

• Identifying key pollution hotspots linked to household and small-scale industrial waste
• Exploring low-cost monitoring methods for water contamination
• Brainstorming community-led collection and disposal models.

A water source that is affected by waste.

A Word of Gratitude

No meaningful project starts in a vacuum. We’re incredibly grateful to the mentors who have walked alongside us during these early, messy stages. Your guidance has already saved us from blind spots and wasted effort. Thank you.

What’s Next

This is not a success story. Not yet. It’s a process story — the kind that rarely makes headlines but quietly determines whether a project sinks or scales.

Over the coming weeks, we’ll move from discussion to prototyping, from whiteboard to real-world testing. We’ll share what works, what fails, and what we learn along the way.

If you’re working on SDG 6, waste management, or community water solutions — let’s connect. The problems are too big for any single team to solve alone.

As a team, we are committed to sustainable innovation that serves communities first. More updates coming soon.