World Environment Day: How Nairobi residents are coping with garbage menace

World Environment Day was marked on Wednesday with a focus on land restoration, desertification, and drought resilience.

In Eastleigh, Nairobi, poor waste management remained a pressing issue, with many lacking designated places for waste disposal, leading to an increase in illegal dumping sites.

Some residents and business owners exploit these areas as a cost-effective alternative to paying for proper garbage collection.

Ronald Juma, who has lived in the Majengo slum for over 30 years, reminisced about a time when the government collected garbage even in the slums.

"They set up trash collection points that we used. However, over time, they stopped, and we've had to figure out how to deal with our garbage ourselves," he told The Eastleigh Voice, explaining that many slum residents cannot afford individual garbage collectors, so they dump their waste in sewers or rivers.

"In Majengo, every individual decides how to dispose of garbage. Some people give it to the youths who get rid of it at Sh20 while others dump it along the roads," he said.

"The county doesn't collect trash within the slums, so if we want them to take it, we have to put it on the main road from where they must pick it. Inside the slums, we have to sort it out ourselves." Many people can't even afford the Sh20 to pay the youths, so the garbage problem persists. We feel forgotten because the services don't reach us."

Swaleh Ramadhan, another Majengo resident who deals with garbage collection, says they often resort to burning it due to the costs involved.

"To dump garbage at the site near Highrise in Pumwani, you have to pay about Sh300, but most people in the slums are unwilling to pay so we opt to burn the trash we collect and keep the little amount we get," he said.

Swaleh Ramadhan, a resident of the Majengo slum in Nairobi, burns trash in this picture taken on June 5, 2024. (Photo: Charity Kilei/EV)

Key challenge for businesses

In Eastleigh, illegal dumping has become a nightmare for residents, despite the county government's cleanup efforts.

Christine Wanjiku, a business operator in the area, said the situation has become "very challenging".

"You can wake up one morning and find trash dumped around your business. If you don't get rid of it, it becomes a trend," she said.

"The lack of designated dumping areas exacerbates the issue. As small-scale business people, hiring major garbage contractors is hard due to the cost. We prefer having individuals deal with garbage because it's cost-effective."

Several streets in Eastleigh have long been heaped with garbage, with business people and households unwilling to pay Sh300–Sh500 for collection. The street children they give it to do not take the waste to the designated collection points and leave it on the roads instead.

Kennedy Bahati and his friends offer a solution with a focus on recycling via a private, informal organisation known as the Backyard Group.

"We collect garbage from households and recycle food waste, plastic, boxes, and other valuable items, which we sell to recycling companies to earn a living," he said, adding that they operate in areas including California and Pumwani and do not charge residents and business people if the waste contains valuable items.

They ignore the garbage if there is nothing valuable in it.

Ronald Juma, a resident of the Majengo slum in Nairobi, discusses how they manage waste in the area in an interview with The Eastleigh Voice on June 5, 2024. (Photo: Charity Kilei/EV)

Sakaja's pledge

The waste management crisis in Majengo and other Nairobi slums brings to the fore the urgent need for sustainable solutions to ensure cleaner and healthier environments for all.

In an interview on Citizen TV in April, Governor Sakaja stressed the county's commitment to dealing with the garbage menace.

“We have enhanced the county’s internal capacity to manage garbage collection. We have procured 50 skip trucks, 10 skip loaders, 24 tippers, and 24 refuse compactors to strengthen our capabilities,” he explained.

The governor also mentioned that the county had awarded a contract to a Chinese firm to transform the Dandora dumpsite into a power-generating facility using garbage as a raw material.

He further highlighted the county's commitment to a circular economy, which focuses on material recovery through sharing, leasing, reusing, repairing, refurbishing, and recycling materials and products for as long as possible.

“We have awarded a waste-to-energy contract to China International Electrical Engineering Company, which will convert the waste at the Dandora dumpsite into 45 megawatts of power," he said.

“This will benefit us as the waste becomes their raw material. Some countries even export garbage.”

The governor stated that the county decided to change the city's garbage collection system because the previous method was unsustainable due to various loopholes.

Kennedy Bahati, a member of the Backyard Group, speaks to The Eastleigh Voice on June 5, 2024, regarding their approach to garbage disposal. (Photo: Charity Kilei/EV)

Unintentional poisoning

According to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), air pollution, both indoor and outdoor, along with freshwater and ocean pollution, leads to the accumulation of toxic chemicals, heavy metals (such as mercury, lead, and cadmium), and microplastics in the food chain.

These pollutants have adverse effects on humans and animals alike; unintentional poisoning, often from toxic chemicals like pesticides in domestic and occupational environments, heavily impacts human health, especially in low-income countries.

UNEP says that environmental degradation, exacerbated by the climate crisis, generates health hazards like extreme weather and floods, contributes to non-communicable diseases, and impacts the interface of animal, human, and ecosystem health.

These effects disproportionately harm the poor, disadvantaged, and vulnerable populations, including women and children.

The organisation also notes that air pollution is the greatest environmental threat to public health globally, accounting for an estimated 7 million premature deaths every year. Air pollution and climate change are closely linked, as all major pollutants impact the climate.