Nairobi,2nd August 2024
Nairobi City County Chief Officer in charge of Environment Mr. Hibrahim Otieno stated that the process of constructing the first ever Waste to Energy plant in Dandora which is set to reduce the impact of waste in the City is still on.
“It is the first time we have gotten to a position we could say we have moved further than in any other administration in the waste to energy project. The process began way back in 2013 but this is the first time we have gotten up to the negotiation stage. The process is still on.” Mr. Otieno said.
The Chief Officer went on to mention that the plant is a Public- Private Partnership project that will help tackle the issue of solid waste management in Nairobi.
Mr. Otieno explained that in addition to constructing the Waste to Energy plant, Nairobi County requires over 200 trucks to be able to successfully collect and dispose waste produced every day. Currently, the County has 60 No. functional trucks and in the process of acquiring an additional 24 more which are currently being branded and set to start working soon.
“Governor Sakaja’s Government is the first administration that has acquired the highest number of waste collection equipment for the City since devolution. We have been able to acquire 60 trucks, 27 tippers, 10 bin carriers and 24 new refuse compactors which are currently being branded and expected to be delivered soon and assigned to the markets and to the green army for immediate carting away of waste. The administration has also been able to employ the highest number of environment technical and support staff since 1980’s” He added.
He further mentioned that the City generates a lot of waste on a daily basis and more so in the markets and for it to sustainably manage such waste, it must invest in its own internal capacity to fill in the gap that may be caused by relying on service providers who may cause delays if not compensated in time.
The Environment Chief Officer also reported that the department continues to deal with the issues of illegal garbage collection sites, noting that when Governor Sakaja came into office, the County had about 110 illegal dumping sites but at the moment 50 of them have been closed down and the areas rehabilitated and beautified. “The remaining 60 are critical for waste management in particular areas because we have CBOs that collect waste particularly in the informal settlements and because they don’t have capacity to transport straight to the final dumpsite, the waste is held at the holding area, whereby the county collects and transports it to the final dumpsite.
He added that the Environment department is working on upping their game on the enforcement of illegal dumping which he said happens mostly at night.
Mr. Otieno said the department will continue creating awareness in order to inform the public that illegal dumping is an offence under the Solid Waste Management Act, attracting a fine of 100k for first offender and 300k for repeat offenders and that the offence can take one to jail if they don’t comply. “We usually encourage members of the public to share information about illegal dumping which could result to public health issues. By reporting, they could help avert a crisis which could directly or indirectly affect them health-wise.” Said Mr. Otieno.
The Environment Chief Officer also mentioned that the county is planning to install more litter bins across the CBD this financial year. He said the City used to have a lot of litter bins but got vandalized by scrap metal dealers.
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