Kajiado County engages locals to improve solid waste management
Lauryn Nailantei-KNA
Kajiado Municipality has launched a community-led waste management initiative so as to improve solid waste management, and curb environmental pollution.
The citizen forum comprises neighbourhood associations, landlords and the zonal representatives.
During a sensitization forum, Kajiado Municipality manager James Saruni ole Tono said the municipality's will continue to manage solid waste through laws established through the Kajiado Municipality Solid Waste Management Policy.
The policy enables them to improve waste collection, transportation, disposal and creation of awareness within the community.
"This policy aims to improve solid waste management in a holistic manner, conversing with every aspect of environmental conservation. We aim to begin at home where the waste generation starts right down to the material recovery facility in an intricate well-designed way that involves community engagement and participation," Saruni says.
The manager revealed that the dumpsite is currently undergoing rehabilitation to elevate it into a state-of-the-art material recovery facility through introduction of strategic waste placement in areas known as cells that are accessible through internal feeder roads to ease and manage incoming waste.
The municipality will construct a razor wire fence around the facility to control and limit access and capture windblown litter.
He said a green buffer around the facility will also be established to absorb the fumes coming from the facility.
"This will be made possible through a 12 persons’ committee and subcommittee on solid waste management with representation from chiefs, zonal representatives and residents to ensure inclusiveness," Saruni said.
The manager also revoked the use of the word dumpsite to refer to the material recovery facility.
The Director, the National Environmental Management Authority (NEMA) Kajiado County, Mark Angwenyi, advocated the use of colour-coded waste bins as gazetted to ensure proper sorting of solid waste at the material recovery facility.
The green bins are for organic compostable waste; blue bins are for recyclable waste and the black bins are for general waste. Angwenyi urged the landlords to provide for such solid waste sorting to encourage tenants to participate in appropriate disposal.
"Each of us present here today, is a representation of somebody out there. Therefore, it is our responsibility to inform them on these waste segregation methods. I urge each of us to be the eyes and ears on matters affecting our environment especially in our zonal placements," Angwenyi emphasised.
Kajiado Central, Public Health Officer, Ruth Parsimei, urged the zonal representatives, landlords and neighbourhood associations to proactively encourage fencing of residential plots of land, citing unfenced plots as the major hot spots for careless disposal of solid waste.
"We need to fully activate zonal waste management leadership to ensure land plot owners fence their land through the cascading of sensitisation to the zones by the representations we have presented here today. That shows that only collaborative efforts within us will guarantee us a win in this waste management struggle," Parsimei said.
She echoed that material recovery facilities should only accommodate non-hazardous waste material to avoid leachate leaking to water sources and eventually foods, causing health complications. Parsimei urged the community to report any citing and evidence dumping of hazardous waste material at the facility.
Japheth Kiilu, a resident of Saina Estate, appealed to the municipality to train and sensitise garbage collectors on proper waste disposal methods, adding that confusion and conflict often arise from inconsistent practices.
Kiilu also raised concern over the lack of clear guidelines for disposing of used diapers and sanitary towels, attributing the problem to the absence of licensed and accessible incinerators.
He called for community engagement and awareness campaigns, cautioning against the use of punitive fines without public education.
Human settlements, especially in urban centres and cities, generate an estimated 2.3 billion tonnes of municipal solid waste every year according to the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP). This is projected to hit 3.8 billion tonnes by 2050.