By Catherine Tembo
LILONGWE, Malawi. In the deepest corners of Lilongwe, thin plastics lie scattered across roads, markets, and waterways silent evidence of a waste crisis that refuses to fade.

As off-grid solar transforms energy access in Malawi, a hidden crisis is unfolding. The uncontrolled recycling of lead-acid batteries is contaminating neighbourhoods, damaging children’s brains, and exposing deep failures in environmental governance.
By Collins Mtika
On clear mornings in Lilongwe’s Mtsiliza ward, the air smells of burning plastic and hot metal. At Mtsiliza Primary School, pupils line up for assembly as black smoke drifts over the perimeter wall.
Less than 100 metres from the classrooms, an unlicensed lead smelter operates around the clock.