Dandora dwellers to put up with stinking dump for 10 years

The Dandora dumpsite. People living near the site will have to put up with it for 10 more years as engineers start compacting the waste to create extra space. FILE PHOTO | ROBERT NGUGI | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • Dr Ayisi defended the environment department, which has been accused of failing to keep the city clean.
  • He said the county had improved in garbage collection.
  • The county secretary said the city would also light up the dumpsite and beef up security to allow those depositing the waste to do so even at night.
  • Plans to move the dumpsite to Ruai have been put on hold.

Residents of Dandora will have to put up with the dumpsite for 10 more years as engineers start compacting the waste to create extra space.

This comes even as the garbage pile-up in Nairobi remains an eyesore and a health hazard.

City Hall has now turned its focus to find a short-term solution to solid waste management.

Speaking in his office, County Secretary Robert Ayisi said City Hall had examined the dumpsite and realised the waste had only been deposited at the entrance to the site and there is space for more garbage for the next 10 years.

“We assessed the dumpsite in December and found out most waste is deposited at the point of entry. We now have bulldozers at the site pushing the garbage to the furthest end,” he said.

DEFENDED ENVIRONMENT DEPARTMENT

Dr Ayisi defended the environment department, which has been accused of failing to keep the city clean, saying the county had improved its garbage collection.

He said a contractor would repair John Osogo Road and other feeder roads that lead to the dumpsite and will also control the traffic of trash lorries entering the site.

“We will have opened up more roads leading to the dumpsite [and that] will help lorries taking garbage to the site make many trips because the traffic will be flowing fast after repairs on the roads,” said Dr Ayisi.

The county secretary said the city would also light up the dumpsite and beef up security to allow those depositing the waste to do so even at night.

Plans to move the dumpsite to Ruai have been put on hold because scavenging birds attracted to the dumpsite would interfere with the safety of planes flying to and from Jomo Kenyatta International Airport.

City Hall, however, has entered into a partnership with German firm EMC Solutions to build a Sh28 billion electricity generation plant at the dumpsite.