At least half of Kenyan households burn their waste, a dangerous method of disposal that releases toxins in the air, a global safety charity suggests in its latest report.
Open burning of waste is illegal in parts of the country such as Nairobi where it attracts a Sh500,000 fine or six months jail term.
However, the latest edition of the World Risk Poll waste management report suggests that 54 per cent of Kenyan families burn their waste.
The report, 'A World of Waste: risks and opportunities in household waste management', is produced in consultation with waste management experts from the United Nations Environment Programme, among other institutions.
The data was collected by global pollster Gallup, which conducted 147,000 interviews in 142 countries and territories around the world.
The report found that open burning is the third most common method of waste disposal across the world, with 14 per cent of households globally disposing of their waste this way, including 54 per cent in Kenya.
The high rates of open burning in many countries, including Kenya, highlights the importance of providing viable waste disposal alternatives to drive change, the authors suggested.
Experts say open burning of waste releases black carbon into the atmosphere, a key contributor to global warming, as well as ‘forever chemicals’, some human-made substances that linger in the environment forever.
Nancy Hey, director of evidence and insight at Lloyd’s Register Foundation, which collaborated in the report, said, “While residents of many countries benefit from safe and sustainable waste management infrastructure, in countries such as Kenya, the lack of viable alternatives means the uncontrolled disposal of household waste, including hazardous open burning, is high.”
“To address this problem, the development of better collection infrastructure that leads to controlled disposal should be an urgent priority.”
Prof Desta Mebratu, who leads Engineering X’s 'Africa Roadmap for Transformative Action on Waste', said, “Open burning is not a choice for many communities, it is a necessary step they must take due to a lack of infrastructure provided by their government.”
Desta said the findings should be used to inform governments and stakeholders when designing waste disposal infrastructure that keep communities safe.
Unep said although most of the conventional hazardous wastes are produced in industrial and manufacturing operations, significant amounts are generated in non-industrial sectors, including sludge from wastewater treatment plants, waste oils and waste batteries.
“The uncontrolled burning of waste-whether hazardous or not-can create persistent organic pollutants that damage human health and the environment,” Unep said.
Currently, there are two major ways to deal with non-recyclable waste: putting it into a landfill or burning it in an incinerator.
Nairobi county in 2021 banned the burning of any waste at a public disposal site in the city without the authority of the chief officer for environment.
“Any person who contravenes this section commits an offence and shall, on conviction, be liable to a fine of not less than Sh500,000 or to imprisonment for a term not less than six months or both,” the Nairobi City County Air Quality Act, 2021, says.
Industries that contravene standards and measures of the Act commit an offence and shall, on conviction, be liable to a fine not less than Sh1 million or to imprisonment for a term not less than two years or both, the law says.
The law was sponsored by then South B MCA Waithera Chege.
“It is a new dawn for solutions to air quality in the county,” Chege said on Sunday.
At that time, the MCA told the Star the law put stringent measures on industries that have been freely polluting the air.
Chege said individuals burning garbage and other waste would also be dealt with in accordance with the law.
She said some hospitals were disposing of their waste carelessly, exposing dangerous objects such as needles in areas where children play.
“Everyone should help Nairobi to manage waste as well as in improving the quality of air,” she said.