Likoni, Kisauni have most illegal dumpsites in Mombasa - report

Likoni and Kisauni sub-counties have the largest share of 74 illegal dumpsites in Mombasa county, exposing residents, especially children, to health hazards.

A report by Haki Yetu Organisation, dubbed “Garbage and Health: The Dilemma of Illegal Dumping of Solid Waste in Mombasa County”, said some 890,174kg of solid waste is generated daily from residential and non-residential premises in Mombasa.

Residential premises produce 754,493kg of waste daily while non-residential premises produce 135,681kg of solid waste daily.

This amount excludes waste from major industries, airports and the Kenya Ports Authority.

“The waste stream was dominated by kitchen (organic) waste, paper and cardboard, plastics, textiles and glass,” the report read in part.

All these end up in the illegal dumpsites. There are only two designated dumpsites at Mwakirunge and the Shonda in Likoni. The county has 27 transfer stations and four collection points.

The report says 41 per cent of Mombasa residents dump their solid waste in any open public space because of the lack of a clear waste collection system.

Some 13.7 per cent dump theirs in abandoned and incomplete buildings.

Kisauni, the most populous sub-county with an estimated population of 310,195 people, produces 227,962kg of solid waste daily.

Nyali (230,127 population) produces 169,120kg of solid waste daily, while Mvita (population 163,817) produces 120,389kg.

Jomvu (173,639 population) produces 101,474kg daily, while Changamwe (population 140,133) produces the least garbage daily at 64,279kg.

Likoni, despite being the second most populous sub-county with a population of 266,022 persons, produces the second least solid waste daily at 71,267kg.

The average per capita waste generation, taken as a measure of the amount of solid waste generated by an individual daily is 0.49kg per person per day.

The per capita solid waste generation, according to the report, is influenced by the perceived socio-economic status of the individuals in high-income households recorded the highest per capita waste generation at 0.71kg per person per day compared to low-income households with 0.48kg of solid waste generated.

Likoni has the lowest per capita solid waste generation at 0.27kg indicating the low socio-economic status of the majority of the residents.

Kisauni has the highest average per capita solid waste generation of 0.74kg per person per day.

Haki Yetu Organization executive director Peter Kiama said the report shows the need to start a conversation amongst all stakeholders of Mombasa County on how waste is managed in the county.

“We are very concerned, going by this report, that the county government of Mombasa does not have a single system of waste management,” Kiama said.

He said waste management in the county is done by the county government, industries that produce waste and community groups in the neighbourhoods.

Many methods do not seem to coordinate at all.

“Because of that then, you end up with very many illegal dumpsites within Mombasa county,” he said.

He said most illegal dumpsites are in low-income residential areas, despite them generally producing the least solid waste on average.

The illegal dumpsites cause health hazards to residents, lowering their dignity and quality of life, and also devaluing property in their surroundings.

“Because of the lack of a clear system of collecting waste at the aggregation sites, most of the households dump their waste in open public spaces, in abandoned buildings and incomplete buildings causing a lot of inconvenience,” Kiama said.

The Haki Yetu executive director said the lack of a clear system has negative consequences.

“It causes inefficiencies and ineffectiveness leading to loss of public resources. Because if you are collecting waste from over 74 places instead of maybe five places, you spend more time, fuel and personnel to go to all those places,” he said.

It also pollutes the environment, causing health risks.

He explained that then people dump their waste in neighbourhoods and when it accumulates, they burn it.

When waste is burned, especially plastics, dangerous gasses are emitted, polluting the air.

“The illegal dumpsites invite crime. You tend to have persons living off those dumpsites some of whom are involved in crime. The residents told us it is difficult to walk near the dumpsites, especially in the evenings because those elements would attack them,” Kaima said.

The illegal dumpsites also invite pests and rodents that cause health risks, apart from being a nuisance.

He said the VOK area is a classic example of property devaluation because of the garbage nearby.

“The county needs to establish a single system of waste management which is not only effective but also efficient,” Kiama said.

He noted that the county should also partner with private entities that can handle organic waste instead of taking it to dumpsites.

“Private actors can convert organic waste into other useful things when given incentives,” he said.

He emphasized the need for policies to guide the management of non-biodegradable waste like plastics and give incentives to private actors to be able to convert the waste into other useful materials.

“There are companies and supermarkets that produce a lot of waste. There needs to be a level of responsibility for those companies to be able to pay for the waste that they produce. There can be a levy for those companies to fund the waste management,” Kiama said.

The study was conducted last year ending in December.

Kiama said they sampled houses in different sub-counties where they gave them special waste bags into which to dump their waste.

This way, they scientifically measured who produces what amount of waste.

The Mombasa government said they will give a comprehensive report of waste management and the challenges they face later.

“I would be open to having a proper discussion at my office on the same,” said the environment chief officer Hamid Hamid.

Hamid however noted there is a lot that the county is doing to try and improve the county’s waste collection despite the challenges they face.