• Nairobi generates about 3,000 tonnes of waste daily, according to Nairobi County sustainable waste management plan.
• Sixty per cent of waste in the city is organic, 30 per cent can be recycled while 10 per cent can be used to generate energy or incinerated.
Nairobi county is at risk of being plunged into a health crisis due to poor waste management, an environmental expert has said.
Benson Ochieng, a director at the Institute for Law and Environmental Governance, told the Star the city has become a dumping ground and is choking on waste.
Open dumping of garbage, he said, facilitates the breeding of disease vectors such as flies, mosquitoes, cockroaches, rats and other pests.
“The county needs to be serious and start with the basics. The county should realise opportunities in waste,” he said.
Ochieng said the county needs a well-functioning system that is acceptable to handle all types of waste collected.
The county is faced with problems such as lack of waste management systems, limited knowledge, attitude and practices, political will, technical and financial resources. Cartels have been exploiting these loopholes and are having a field day.
Waste in the CBD is largely collected by the county, while private operators dominate collection in residential areas at a fee.
In low income and informal settlements, waste collection is poor and is mainly done by organised groups and CBOs. In such settlements, waste is usually disposed of in open dumpsites.
Nairobi generates about 3,000 tonnes of waste daily, according to the Nairobi County Sustainable Waste Management Plan. Uncollected solid waste accounts for 774 tonnes per day, while private recycling companies handle 654 tonnes daily.
A JICA report shows a steady increase in waste in Nairobi, with 1,848 tonnes generated daily in 2009 and 1,924 tonnes in 2010 and 2,353 tonnes in 2015. The study projected that by 2020, some 2,831 tonnes of waste will be generated daily, 3,378 in 2025, and 3,990 daily in 2030.
The study sought to review the situation of waste management in Nairobi and revise the existing master plan as well as develop human resources for solid waste management. It says Sh23 million was needed in 2014 for the clean-up of illegal dumpsites.
The JICA report says Dandora Dumpsite Urgent Improvement Plan requires Sh680 million, including regular operation and maintenance from 2011 to 2016. The report recommends the establishment of a landfill site close to the Dandora dumpsite.
This comes even as the county's plan to build a waste recycling plant in Dandora hangs in the balance despite previous reassurances by the devolved unit. The Sh28 billion Dandora waste-to-energy recycling plant was supposed to produce 160MW per day.
The County Annual Development Plan 2020-21 indicated that methane will be generated from residual waste at the dumpsite for power generation.
Last month, Environment executive Veska Kangogo said 60 per cent of waste in the city is organic, 30 per cent can be recycled, while 10 per cent can be used to generate energy or incinerated.
Kangogo said the piloting of the model that seeks to better manage waste within the county will be done by July 1.
"The programme is to pilot a circular model of waste management in Nairobi county in collaboration with the Ministry of Environment, Kepsa, Nema and the office of the President," Kangogo said.
In the circular model of waste management, the waste is segregated. The waste will then be collected and transported to a material recovery facility where it will be received, sorted and treated.
Ochieng said sorting, recycling, minimising and adopting new technology can be a game-changer.
The county will spearhead waste segregation at source by establishing infrastructure in markets and residential areas with waste bins for organic waste, animal feed, and recyclables.
In 2018, Governor Mike Sonko launched a monthly cleaning campaign. The theme of the clean-up was “My waste, my responsibility”.
The cleaning was supposed to happen every first Saturday of the month in Nairobi’s 85 wards. However, nothing seems to have happened after the launch.
Ochieng said the monthly clean-up ought to have been preceded by public awareness for Nairobi residents to own the initiative. “People should buy the idea and know that they have a responsibility,” he said.