Solid waste management plant to be set up in Thika

A solid waste management plant will be set up on a 100 acres in Thika town, Kiambu County, to recycle waste and manufacture fertiliser.

The project, which is a partnership between the Kiambu County government, UN Habitat and Fukuoka Prefecture State of Japan, is expected to start in three months.

The plant, which will be built in three phases, will be set up on land in Kang'oki village near Kiandutu slums in Thika.

Yesterday, UN Habitat and Japan's Fukuoka Prefecture State governor, Horoshi Ogawa, visited Kiambu Governor William Kabogo at his office in Thika.

Mr Kabogo said the project will help the county address the solid waste problem it is currently facing, adding that it will also create employment for the many jobless youth.

The governor further observed that the fertiliser, which will be produced from the solid waste recycling, will benefit farmers and lower the cost of farming.

JOINT VENTURES

"We are honoured to have partners who have the requisite knowledge and expertise in solid waste management. Once this project is complete, we will ensure local farmers get cheap fertiliser to boos their yields. We want this project to act as a role model for other counties," Kabogo said.

He called on the UN Habitat and the Japanese state to also partner with the county government in housing and agricultural sectors.

"The county has great demand for housing by virtue of it being the bedroom of Nairobi due to its close proximity to the capital city. We need partnerships that will help us offer cheap housing to residents," he said.

Axumite Gebre-Egziabher, the UN Habitat director for Africa said her organisation was delighted to partner with the county government in solid waste management.

Egziabher said UN Habitat was committed to promoting sustainable urban housing development and sustainable waste management and promised to work with the county government in enhancing development.

SHARED KNOWLEDGE

"As an international organisation, we want to make sure the county government does not repeat past mistakes as pertains to urban planning and solid waste management. We are willing to provide the requisite expertise to support their development efforts," she said.

On his part, governor Ogawa said he was willing to share his state's experience in waste management as well as knowledge and expertise gained.

"We have a very good method of solid waste management in Fakuoka state, which we hope to apply and teach our counterparts in Kiambu county. We hope once this project is complete it will spur other counties to adopt it," he said.

The solid waste management plant will be the first of its kind to be set up by a county government.