Mombasa to Adopt US style in Solving Garbage Menace.
By Harrison Kivisu
Email, thecoastnewspaper@gmail.com
Mombasa County government has announced a plan to purchase six garbage compactors at a cost of Sh90 to 100 million to resolve garbage menace at the Port City.
The county deputy governor Francis Thoya confirmed the use of those modern garbage compactors to collect garbage saying they were a global practice of dealing with the garbage problem, and the Port City was no exception.
Many countries use garbage compactors, including European countries where press compactors are widely used to reduce the volume of municipal solid waste for more efficient disposal and transportation.
“As a county, we have planned in the final year of 2024-2025 to buy four modern garbage compactors that will help us in the collection of garbage in Mombasa,” he said.
In Mombasa, according to him, the plan is already at an advanced stage and by the end of next fiscal year the county will acquire six modern equipment valued at Sh100 million.
“The cost range will be between Sh90 and Sh100 million, and our plan is to have six compactors – one for every subcounty do away with trucks which collect garbage along the main roads.”
In the United States, garbage compactors are used in households, businesses, and construction sites to reduce the amount of waste and number of trips needed to collect it.
“Lorries are not supposed to be used when collecting garbage along the roads or streets. So, compactors will be the game changer. It’s a global practice everywhere in the world.”
The DG says the county will take drastic measures to ensure adherence to such regulations and pledging total compliance.
The county, he says, will enact its laws to force compliance adding that it is already implementing the segregation of waste at the source to ensure it succeeds.
“The introduction of the bin system at the household level guarantees the reduction of waste that finds its way to Mwakirunge Waste Management c Centre. This will create employment opportunities for our women and youth within the value chain.”
He made the remarks during a meeting convened by packaging producer (PAKPRO) organisation meeting where it conducted sensitisation on manufacturers about the newly gazetted law dubbed extended producer responsibility (EPR) regulations.
Soon, according to the DG, Mombasa residents will be forced to pay for garbage they produce saying the county is carrying a garbage burden because of failure to adhere to set regulations.
PAKPRO in collaboration with National Environment and Management the Authority (NEMA) is leading awareness campaign in Mombasa to equip the public with critical insights on the EPR regulations.
Joyce Gachuri Waweru, a director of Pakpro company said the firm had embarked in sensitising Kenyans on the need to embrace the new gazetted laws that were going to be effective soon.
“We are meeting different players to educate them and also sensitise them to ensure they are enlightened to the new law to ensure that by the time it becomes effective, they will be informed,” she said.
All producers in Kenya are expected to comply with the EPR regulations.
“Many manufacturers are very unaware of the law that was affected on 4th of November 2024, so we have partnered with NEMA and Mombasa County to ensure before the transition period expires we sensitise them fully.”
EPR is a policy approach based on the polluter-pays principle which requires that all producers bear mandatory responsibility for the post-consumer stage in their products’ lifecycle, prioritising re-use, increasing recycling rates for technical material, and safe disposal in a temporary, controlled landfill.
The Act defines a producer as an entity that introduces goods, products and packaging into the country using authorised means by manufacturing, importing, converting, filling, refilling, repackaging or rebranding.
