Sustainable Solid Waste Management Strategies in Juja, Kenya

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.