Nairobi used to be a lovely, tidy capital city with lots of greenery. Today, it is only a faint shadow of what it once was because so many estates, particularly in Eastlands, have mountains of trash that are both an eyesore and a threat to the lucrative real estate market. Many landlords would not make good rent from homes that are close to waste piles and overflowing sewage since these conditions could lead to outbreaks of fatal diseases. I sincerely hope that the new Nairobi Governor puts the problem of uncollected trash at the top of his priority list.
Marie, Nairobi
Several areas in Nairobi are covered in mountains of trash that have spilled over from Nairobi's CBD.
When Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja visited various areas of the capital city last weekend to assess the situation of the uncollected waste, he was confronted with the squalor.
Over the past 10 years, Nairobi residents have suffocated in the filth despite several pledges from sitting governors to clean it up that were never kept.
Garbage must be sorted for real estate to flourish in a capital city like Nairobi that contributes significantly to the GDP of the nation.
Nairobi residents are eagerly anticipating Sakaja's next move after hearing him promise to build a trash recycling plant close to the Dandora Dumpsite during his campaign. On May 9, Sakaja made a promise that the contemporary waste recycling facility will convert the mountains of trash into energy.
The Nairobi Metropolitan Services (NMS), which is almost ready to shut down, did make an effort to improve the amount of waste it could collect. According to recent reports, NMS Director Lieutenant General Mohamed Badi stated that the State organization was collecting 2,800 tonnes of waste per day as opposed to its daily goal of 3,000 tonnes.
Nairobi produces 3,000 metric tonnes of waste every day, however due to the city's growing population, this amount rises annually.
By enlisting the assistance of street families and casual labourers in the collection process, NMS hoped to boost daily collection.
The number of NMS's rubbish collection trucks had previously increased to 205 and they had hired solid waste companies to help with garbage collection in various estates.
The amount of collection points was dependent on population size, thus the contractors were required to pick up waste at gazetted locations throughout the 85 wards.
A further 35 new rubbish pickup spots were established by NMS throughout the city in an effort to reduce the number of unlawful dumping sites in Nairobi.
The majority of Nairobi's garbage is dumped at Dandora Dumpsite, the city's main landfill, which is already struggling under the weight of the city's surplus solid waste, containing more than 1.8 million tonnes of rubbish against its estimated capacity of 500,000 tonnes.
- Harold Ayodo is an advocate of the High Court