As a bus made its way toward Ngong, a passenger carelessly tossed a plastic bottle out of the window.
Though it didn’t strike anyone, it landed on the pavement, where a child kicked it, sending it into a nearby trench cluttered with plastic waste.
This incident occurred on March 30, coinciding with the International Day of Zero Waste.
While it occurred in Nairobi, Kenya’s capital, such and other scenes of environmental negligence are common across the globe, irrespective of the notable progress toward waste reduction and sustainability.
This year’s International Day of Zero Waste prompts us to examine the contributions of the fashion and textile sectors to waste more closely and find innovative approaches to tackling the ever-increasing waste.
The theme focuses on zero waste in fashion and textiles, with policy experts, scientists, communication experts and other stakeholders concentrating on this industry’s impact on waste.
Estimates suggest that about 92 million tonnes of textile waste is produced annually, equivalent to a garbage truck full of clothing being sent to landfills every second!
According to a report by the UN Environment Programme titled ‘Beyond an age of waste – Turning rubbish into a resource’, about 2.7 billion people (2 billion in rural settings and 700 million in urban areas) do not have their waste collected.
Where, then, does it go? According to a different report by the United Nations, small businesses and public service providers are responsible for about 2.3 billion tonnes of solid waste yearly.
Even with this, there are no serious waste management services to curb this menace.
Many countries do not have official waste data, or this data may be incomplete and inaccurate, which creates further challenges in ensuring proper waste disposal.
The report also emphasises that, globally, GDP and population are projected to grow in Central and South Asia, as well as sub-Saharan Africa, until 2050. Therefore, it is crucial to establish forward-thinking policies on waste management as early as possible.
What initiatives can best assist us in waste management? Before pursuing complex waste management methods, we should focus on the low-hanging fruits.
We must create mechanisms that ensure everyone is accountable for their waste. Recycling must not be the ultimate goal of waste management, as it is always better to reduce waste by preventing it from occurring in the first place.
The writer is a communication specialist
