• 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 next year.
The Nairobi county government has proposed new measures drastically reduce the huge heaps of garbage disposed of at the Dandora dumpsite.
The county seeks to adopt a circular model of waste management where wastes will be segregated, with useful ones being retained.
The waste will then be collected and transported to a material recovery facility where it will be received, sorted and treated.
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 next year.
"The programme is to pilot a circular model of waste management in Nairobi county in collaboration with the Ministry of Environment, Kepsa, Nema and office of the President," Kangogo said.
Among the proposals that have been put forward include the setting up of nine regional waste material recovery centres and the registration of community-based organisations and private waste service providers.
The removal of illegal dump sites and provision of enough garbage transportation trucks is another proposal.
The county will spearhead waste segregation at source by establishing infrastructure in markets and residential areas with waste bins for organic waste, animal feeds, and recyclables.
Kangogo said the move is guided by the new solid waste management policy by the Ministry of Environment.
“The policy has adopted a circular model of managing waste. The circular model is looking at ways in which it can reduce, reuse, and recycle,” she said.
She continued, “The circular model is structured in such a way that it takes care of the processes in the total value chain of waste management from waste generation, transportation, value addition to disposal.”
Kangogo said the policy that was provided by the national government will be followed by the county.
“We also have a waste management bill before the Cabinet. We decided as a county to be proactive not to wait until the bill is ready since the policy is ready. We cannot continue operating the same way,” she said.
The CEC said they decided to identify the value chain of the waste management system to know their starting point.
She said an action plan was first needed, hence the three meetings held in Naivasha last week.
Kangogo said the structure of implementation has already been developed.
The CEC said the executive, led by President Uhuru Kenyatta and Governor Mike Sonko, has endorsed the plans.
Kangogo co-chairs the multi-agency steering committee with the Environment Chief Administrative Secretary Mohamed Elmi.
The implementation team is also composed of the county technical team, Kepsa, Nema among others.
The steering committee identified education and awareness among the Nairobi residents as critical in implementing the proposals.
Kangogo said an institutional framework will be developed.
“We have developed a public awareness programme intended to be rolled out in by the first week of December. It will educate people on the best practices in waste management,” she said.
The CEC said Nairobi residents will be taught on how to reduce waste, separate waste.
She said youth groups, CBOs; waste handlers among others will be educated.
Waste will henceforth be taken as a resource, Kangogo said.
Dandora dumpsite is full and ought to have been closed several years ago, she said.
“Dandora, as it is today, is full, we cannot continue taking the waste there,” Kangogo said.
The CEC said Dandora will become a recycling site for organisations.
A study by JICA from 1996 to 1998 on solid waste management in Nairobi showed that the total amount of waste disposed of was approximately 3,500,000kgs while the landfill volume is estimated to be around 1.8 million m3.
The amount in 2009 was 220,000 tonnes.
The report noted that since the Dandora is an open dumping site and landfill management is not adequately conducted, negative impacts on the local environment were common.
Such included health risks to the residents due to the littering of waste and the generation of odour and landfill gas.
Accordingly, it is necessary to establish a new landfill site close to the Dandora dumpsite as quickly as possible, the report said.
During the commemoration of International E-waste Day in October, the government announced that it will go after producers of e-waste such as computers, tablets and other large household items.
This will be through the extended producer responsibility.
EPR aims to make producers responsible for the environmental impact of their products throughout the product chain; from design to the post-consumer phase.
The government hopes the move will alleviate the burden on municipalities and taxpayers for managing end-of-life products, reduce the amount of waste destined for final disposal and increase rates of recycling.