Kiambu County Launches Landfill Project to mitigate waste disposal

Muungano women pose for a photo with the a member of the Local administration

Kiambu – Kiambu county government has launched the Kangoki landfill in Thika, a dumpsite that will employ modern technology for waste management practices in the county. The landfill project is undertaken in partnership with Fukuoka University from Japan, UN Habitat and the Ministry of Land, Housing and Urban Development.

The aerobic landfill site is set to be constructed with funding provided by the County Government of Kiambu and the Swedish Government, through its embassy in Kenya.

The county hopes to adopt a proactive approach to the challenge of dumping, as an important campaign to educate communities on the impact of illegal dumping and on Kiambu County Government’s ability to provide an effective and efficient waste management service and systems.

The project will establish a solid management plant at Kang’oki dumpsite in Thika where the county is set to start producing fertilizer from the waste recycling. Kiambu becomes the first county to produce fertilizer from recycling waste management, supported by Fukuoka County in Japan through the UN-Habitat. We will use technology to manage the plant.

Bernadette Musau, a resident of Kiandutu Informal settlement in Thika and a member of Muungano wa Wanavijiji believes, the project will reduce the medical costs incurred by the residents due to diseases caused by poor hygiene not only in Kiandutu but the entire county.

Muungano wa Wanavijiji-Kiandutu is a key partner of the Kiambu county government on a similar waste management programme in the settlement.Thika being one of the largest town within the County of Kiambu, will be able to make its maiden step in shifting its approach in solid waste management from the conventional methods of incineration and open dumping to promoting landfilling, waste reduction, composting and recycling methods.

Key components under this project would include the construction of sanitary landfills and processing stations in the dumpsite, establishment of a functional and comprehensive logistics system for the separation, collection and processing of waste.

The county will organize for two garbage bags per home to be collected at the end of every week. The papers will be green for biodegradable waste and a red one for plastics. The project will also address the negative impact these unlawful practices have on the environment and challenged the County Assembly to come up with a law to regulate illegal dumping all over the county.

Land scarcity being a limiting factor in seeking final disposal sites the County Government found it necessary to look for other ways to dispose the ever increasing household, institutional and industrial waste products that is directly related to the rising population in Kiambu County.

This technology has been successful in Japan and once it’s tried in Kiambu County it will be rolled out in the other 46 counties.

The director of the global division at UN-Habitat, Axumite Gebre said the UN will support the project until the project is successful as it will not only employ people but also keep the environment clean.

This method of waste disposal has been adopted throughout Japan and is recommended by the relevant bodies and ministries in government as the best waste disposal method.

Among the advantages of the Fukuoka method are its simplicity in construction, operation and cost effectiveness, increased waste decomposition rates, reduction in methane emission and the use of common readily available materials and equipment. This method has great potential for applicability in the county of Kiambu and the country at large.