Nema satisfied with 29 polluting companies’ compliance with clean-up orders

The National Environment Management Authority says it is satisfied with compliance with the restoration orders by 20 companies polluting the riverine environment.

Nema officers inspected various points within the Nairobi River catchment area on January 18.

The officials cited assorted synthetic wastes along the Ngong River (Likoni area) and Nairobi River (Rounder area-Outer Ring Road).

Pieces of synthetic bore the brand names of companies.

The Sustainable Waste Management Act, 2022 mandates companies to be responsible for polluting the environment through the introduction of as ‘Extended Producer Responsibility’.

Extended Producer Responsibility holds producers of goods responsible for polluting the environment.

This is a departure from the past when members of the public were solely held responsible for littering.

For this reason Nema director-general Mamo Mamo tasked 29 companies with restoring the environment to its original state following the discovery of their products in the environment.

“The inspection team established assorted synthetic wastes along the Ngong River and Nairobi River, part of which bore your identity as a producer,” Mamo said in a restoration order to the Director of Brookside, dated January 22.

Mamo said the company waste had accumulated in rivers, interfered with water flow and posed a potential threat of flooding and water pollution.

“This is likely to have adverse environmental effects on the sensitive Nairobi River ecosystem,” Mamo said.

The Constitution lists the environment as a right and fundamental freedom under Article 42 and provides that every person has a right to a clean and healthy environment.

Section 13(1) of the Sustainable Waste Management Act, 2022, requires every producer to reduce pollution and environmental impact of the products they introduce into the Kenyan market and the waste they create.

“Section 30(1) states that a person who fails to manage waste under this Act shall be required to clean up and restore the site, where the waste was being managed, to its natural state,” Mamo said.

“Section 32 states that a person who contravenes a provision of this Act for which a penalty has not been prescribed shall, on conviction, be liable to a fine of not less than Sh2 million and not more than Sh4 million or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding four years, or both.”

Brookside has been given 30 days to clean up the waste and restore the environment to its natural or near-natural state.

The company has also been ordered to submit to the authority an EPR plan for the management of waste emanating from their products and packaging for the Nairobi River catchment region.

Should the company feel aggrieved by the order, it has a right to appeal the decision at the National Environment Tribunal.

British American Tobacco has also received similar orders for polluting the Ngong River (Likoni area).

The two companies join a long list of other companies that are now under the scrutiny by Nema.

Ndhiwa Sukari Industries, Pearl Dairy Farm Limited, Kenya Tea Packers, Mini Bakeries (NRB), and Mjengo Limited, among others, have received similar restoration orders.

They will now have to clear their mess before reporting to the authority, demonstrating measures taken to ensure that their products and packaging do not pollute the environment.

Nema director of compliance Ayub Macharia told the Star in a phone interview the authority is so far satisfied with the levels of compliance with restoration orders.

“They are still working on restoration orders. We visited the sites with them, and we are happy with the progress,” Macharia said.

He said the companies have done good work and that the authority praises them for their cooperation.

The director said the companies have plans to engage with over 100 waste pickers in the coming week on the modalities of working on a compensation scheme.

Macharia said the waste pickers want to get payment assurance from companies.

“The companies will set aside some money and announce it publicly. Our role as Nema is to bring them together.”

The latest bid to control companies polluting the environment comes even as efforts to clean the Nairobi River get underway.

The Nairobi River Commission has been grappling with fresh solid waste getting into the Nairobi River.

The commission is tasked with coordinating initiatives meant to protect, restore, rehabilitate, and beautify the rivers and water bodies within the Nairobi Rivers Basin. The aim is to make them into vibrant spines for blue and green infrastructure, has since developed an action plan.

The plan’s focus areas include catchment protection and restoration, mapping and reclamation of riparian land, removing waste to rivers, improving drainage, and hydrology.

The clean-up operation covers Nairobi, Kiambu, Kajiado, Machakos, and Makueni counties.

It has developed a strategy plan (2023–27) for the management of the Nairobi River basin through a thematic area approach. This will address most of the issues in the basin, including flood mitigation.

Approximately 7.1 kilometres of the river have been cleaned and waste removed.

Already, the commission has pulled some 6,070 tons of solid waste in Nairobi River since November 9 last year. The waste has since been moved to Dandora.

A distance of 7.1km of the river has been cleared.

The commission needs approximately Sh22 billion to immediately address solid waste, sewerage and industrial waste challenges.

This is in addition to developing the necessary infrastructure and addressing catchment protection and riparian mapping.

To address solid waste in Nairobi, more than Sh900 million is needed; Kiambu (Sh486 million), Kajiado (Sh516 million), Machakos (Sh647 million), and Makueni (Sh433 million).

This brings the total amount of solid waste management to more than Sh3 billion.

To address sewerage in Nairobi, Sh964 million is needed; Kiambu (Sh2 billion), Kajiado (Sh725 million), Machakos (Sh304 million), and Makueni (Sh450 million), all amounting to more than Sh4 billion.