Kiambu starts reclaiming mega Kang’oki dumpsite
Kiambu has moved in to reclaim the perilous Kang’oki dumpsite, the largest waste management centre in the county.
The county has embarked on an initiative to plant trees around the landfill in a bid to manage the wastes effectively and also ensure that the environment is clean.
In partnership with Kenya Association of Manufacturers (KAM), Kenya PET Recycling Company (Petco), waste pickers and other stakeholders, the county yesterday (Thursday) planted over 300 trees which the waste pickers will nurture until growth.
According to Kiambu county director in charge of environment Patrick Wang’ombe Theuri, a lot of gases among them methane and carbon dioxide are emitted during decomposition of waste and the planted trees will come in hardy to absorb the gases for photosynthesis.
Speaking at the dumpsite, Theuri said that the county was working on modalities of engaging the waste pickers to earn more from their toil.
He said that the devolved unit was in the process of putting up a facility for sorting wastes which will come a long way with creation of more jobs for the youth.
He said that the landfill pilot project that was put up by the county in partnership with Japan to manage solid waste which has become a growing concern is completed in terms of construction.
The county is thereby set to start producing fertilizer from the waste recycling at the far-flung area.
“We can now start burying wastes here but what we have not started is the segregation of the waste. We want to first sort out our waste to reduce the amount to around 5 percent of what is being carried,” he said.
Priv Haria, the PET Bottle Recyclers limited representative said the company is ready to support waste entrepreneurs who segregate and make a value out of what people throw away.
“We want to improve the lives of those who work within the landfill by engaging them in a more technological way of sorting out the wastes,” he said.
He regretted high contamination and uptake of toxic gases in the hot area by residents and maintained that planting trees will help reduce gas production and thereby improve on their health.
His sentiments were echoed by Petco representative Gathoni Methu who joined waste pickers and county representatives to plant trees, an event that was also done in commemoration of World Environment Day that is slated for tomorrow.
