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Kenya: Circular Economy Introduced to Save Nairobi’s Diminishing Environment

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4 years ago

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Nairobi — 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.

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.