Circular economy unveile to save Nairobi’s diminishing environment
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enya is set to host the inaugural two day Waste-to-Energy Congress aimed at tackling waste management challenges facing the country. / UNSPLASH

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Circular economy introduced to save Nairobi’s diminishing environment

NAIROBI, Kenya, Aug 3 – The Ministry of Environment and Forestry has announced the launch of a new campaign geared at tackling environmental challenges such as waste and pollution in Nairobi.

The Nairobi City County Environmental Sustainability and Circular Economy awareness campaign seeks to promote sustainable consumption among members of the public, to reduce waste generation.

In an exclusive interview with Capital Business, the Ministry’s Chief Administrative Secretary Mohammed Elmi said the campaign whose theme is ‘Taka ni Mali’ is also designed to promote recycling of 99 percent of things used in homes.

Elmi said the campaign will also be used to encourage Kenyans to learn about recycling waste appropriately.

Nairobi for instance has witnessed ballooning of electronic waste, owing to the rise of mobile phone penetration and a burgeoning middle-class.

Globally, the UN estimates that electronic waste reached 41.8 million tonnes in 2014.

Another data by the Global E-Waste Monitor report of 2020 found that a record 53.6 million metric tonnes of electronic waste was generated globally in 2019, marking a 21 percent jump in just five years.

It also projected that global e-waste will reach 74 metric tonnes by 2030, making e-waste the world’s fastest-growing domestic waste stream, fuelled mainly by higher consumption rates of electric and electronic equipment, short life cycles, and few options for repair.

“We have a lot of electronic waste in Kenya and we have realized that many people do not know how to get rid of this waste appropriately,” Elmi said.

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The CAS said that with the adoption of circular economy, the Dandora dumpsite for instance, which is Nairobi’s main dumping ground, would get cleaned up by up to 70 percent.

Official data indicates that the dumpsite covers over 30 acres, risking the health of residents in Dandora estate, Korogocho, Baba Ndogo, and Mathare.

A report filed by Aljazeera found that the dumpsite receives more than 2,000 metric tonnes of waste from the capital city’s 4.5 million residents.

Jobs

Elmi said the implementation of the circular economy in the country would create thousands of jobs for the Kenyan youth as it would require all waste to be used resourcefully.

“One of the recyclers who are making a name in Nairobi has over 1,000 workers. We anticipate such initiatives would create more jobs.”

The Ministry has launched the campaign in Nairobi, with the aim of taking it to other counties. Mombasa County is also in the early stages of implementing the initiative.

The launch of the campaign comes at a time when a new report has revealed that toxic chemicals in plastic waste exports from wealthy countries are contaminating food in developing and transition countries around the world.

The new study released by the International Pollutants Elimination Network (IPEN) indicates most of the plastic waste exported from wealthy countries to countries with developing economies or economies in transition is landfilled, burned, or dumped into waterways.

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“All of these disposal methods result in highly toxic emissions that remain in the environment for decades and build up in the food chain.  Plastic Waste Poisoning Food and Threatening Communities in Africa, Asia, Central and Eastern Europe, and Latin America demonstrates how these plastic waste handling methods end up poisoning local populations,” the report noted.

The report recommends global controls on hazardous chemicals in plastic and an end to plastic waste exports.

It also calls on industry to invest in safe plastic alternatives, eliminate toxic chemical additives to plastics, and create closed-loop systems that don’t create toxic waste.

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