Why Nairobi is losing its sparkle & what you can do

Driving along major roads in city estates, one hardly covers a few kilometers before coming across piles of garbage with an offensive stench hanging in the air.

Case in point are Kangundo Road, Outering Road and Enterprise Road where illegal dumping continues, with many roads in Eastleigh and Kawangware also suffering the same fate.

The green city under the sun is facing a literally dirty reality with Illegal garbage dumping sites mushrooming all over the city and posing a health risk to residents in addition to compounding the flooding witnessed whenever it rains.

Even after being cleared by the county government, piles of garbage seem to mushroom almost overnight, increasing in size every night until it is cleared only for a new pile to emerge.

Unlicensed waste handling & garbage collection companies

The sector has remained largely unregulated with unlicensed entities running garbage collection companies some of which are unregistered.

Needless to say, most of the illegal entities collect garbage from households with the final destination being illegal dumping sites that are mushrooming in the city.

This writer made a brief stop at an illegal dumping site located slightly past Ruai along Kangundo road just opposite where a new mall set to host Mathais supermarket is coming up and witnessed handcarts pulled by young men who appeared intoxicated pulling up dumping garbage collected from households and small businesses in the area, a scene that was replicated across several points where illegal.

“Sasa hapa si hata wewe unaona kuna takataka tayari na watu wa kanjo huwa wanazibeba (You can see garbage is already here and the county government will eventually move it away),” one of the young men operating a cart responded.

Vendors

While coming up with this piece, this writer saw some vendors who sell fruits, sugarcane, roasted maize and boiled eggs dumping their wastes along roads in the city as well as at illegal dumping sites.

After wrapping their activities for the day they emptied their wastes which included banana peels, sugar cane fibre, the leafy outside covering that protects maize, vegetable waste from stalls and egg shells along city roads adding to the pile that was already there.

This is often done in the cover of darkness and a sugarcane vendor who this writer caught up with dumping waste along Outering road confirmed that this is a common practice among small scale traders who

“Hii biashara yangu mapato ni kidogo na ninamaliza siku na uchovu, kulipa mtu kunitupia takataka itaniwacha bila kitu. (Income in this business is limited and using part of it to pay someone to dispose the garbage will leave me with nothing),” he explained, attempting to justify his actions.

Despite being aware of the public health nuisance, they were contributing to and the fact that they knew that what they were doing is wrong, most claimed that garbage was already there anyway and that county government would eventually move the garbage.

Residents failing on their part

Nairobi residents have in the past been faulted for littering the city and illegal dumping which not only makes the city dirty, but contributes to flooding whenever it rains.

Despite frequent initiatives by the county government, to clear drainages and allow for the flow of rainwater, illegal dumping continues with many drainages blocked and waiting for the next downpour to leave sections of the city flooded.

We, as the county government, are committed to making sure the city is clean, but I’m calling upon the city residents to take responsibility for their city by making sure that they keep it clean. It is a collective responsibility, not an individual one.

“Stop illegal dumping. Do not throw garbage from your cars or matatus along road reserves, where it ends up in rivers and clogs our drainage systems,” Nairobi County Chief Officer for Environment Geoffrey Mosiria urged in a statement released in June when the several areas of the city were left flooded.

Initiatives by the county government & what residents can do

Keeping the city clean is a collective responsibility with the Nairobi County government embracing modern technology like street sweepers and refuse compactors to enhance cleanliness.

Citizen-led environmental stewardship appears to be the missing link with some residents quick to bash the county government while failing to acknowledge their role.

Simple acts such as avoiding littering, disposing garbage/litter at designated points, utilising the services of licensed and compliant waste handling companies are ways residents can make Nairobi clean again and add on to the work one by the county government.

Turning up for initiatives to clean the city is also a great way to make Nairobi sparkle again.