Abstract:
Integrated solid waste management includes source reduction, source separation, recycling
and reuse as well as materials recovery. The waste materials that remain should be safely
disposed into a sanitary landfill. Up to 2010 when this study was done, no Kenyan city had a
sanitary landfill and solid waste piles along inner city streets was a common sight in Nairobi.
This study found that the solid waste in Juja consisted of 80% food and other organic
wastes, 10% plastics, 2% metal and glass, and 3% mixed refuse. The waste had a very low
level of toxic substances. The majority of the households produced less than 3 kg per day,
which translated to less than 0.5 kg/person/day. JKUAT-SWMM, a solid waste management
model developed in this study, suggested that if 25% of the population would do
composting using household compost digesters of 288 L, the area of a disposal site required
for 1 million people would be 16 ha. The identified site was on fallow land that received an
annual rainfall of 600-800 mm. A waste disposal facility in Juja Farm could cater for most of
the towns in the area of interest, including Juja, Mangu, Kimunyu, Gatundu, Thika, Ruiru
and Kahawa. The landfill would be accessible to institutions such as Jomo Kenyatta
University of Agriculture and Technology in Juja, Mount Kenya University in Thika,
Kilimambogo Teachers’ College in Kilimambogo, and numerous secondary schools in the
area.
