Uasin Gishu partners with Swedish investor in modern waste management deal

Uasin Gishu County has partnered with a Swedish investor to establish a waste management system that will facilitate the generation of electricity besides conserving the environment.

This is the first county to strike a partnership deal with the Swedish company Againity, one of the pioneers of modern waste management technology in Europe.

The company director David Frykeras said that they are keen to stretch their partnership across the African continent.

Mr Frykeras said that the plant will produce up to 600 kilowatts of power upon completion.

“About 200 kilowatts will be powering up machines within the plant. Plans are underway to have the Kenyan Electricity Generating Company (KenGen) to absorb the rest of the power into the national grid,” said Mr Frykeras.

He was speaking in Eldoret on Wednesday after paying a courtesy visit on Deputy Governor Daniel Chemno.

Mr Frykeras was accompanied by Kenya's Ambassador to Sweden Joseph Sang.

Mr Frykeras said, “We are projecting about 600 kilowatts of power from our plant. The projection is, of course, dependent on the volume of raw materials, so we believe we can hit the said target if we have a constant supply of material.”

The plant will be a big boost for the county which seeks possible ways of solving increasing volumes of waste in its damp sites.

INCREASING WASTE

The Deputy Governor said that the county will benefit most as it was already grappling with increasing waste.

“The county is really looking forward to this partnership because we need such solutions.

“Our population is growing very fast and it is common sense that it comes with its challenges in matters of waste management,” said Mr Chemno.

He was flanked by the county executive committee member in-charge of Water, Environment and Conservation Mary Njogu.

It is estimated that Uasin Gishu County collects up to 200 tons of both organic and inorganic waste per day.

Againity is the second Swedish firm to strike a partnership with Uasin Gishu County after XiniX Water and Disinfecting Company.

A team from XiniX visited the county last month and presented its non-alcoholic disinfecting reagents whose components are purely water.

XiniX’s representative Richard Ndubai said the products varied from surface sanitisers to water purifiers.

The company is the first to develop a sanitising product which is non-alcoholic, Mr Ndubai said, adding that the Kenya Bureau of Standards had approved its products.

During the meeting, XiniX and Eldoret Water and Sanitation Company deliberated on the possibility of establishing a chloride dioxide company in the county.