pass the law on solid waste management
The County Assembly of Kirinyaga has prescribed tough new
measures to manage garbage, which includes fines of up to Kshs.300, 000 for
failure to segregate solid waste and transporting it in open trucks.
collection levies ranging from Sh300 to Sh5,000 for cleaning up after the
Assembly passed the Kirinyaga County Solid Waste Management Bill, 2020.
Private hospitals and nursing homes, which generally
generate medical waste, will pay Sh 4,000 per month in new levies while large
industries will cough Sh 5,000 per year to help the devolved unit in refuse
management.
“A person who commits an offence under this section shall
upon conviction be liable to a fine not exceeding Sh300,000 or to an
imprisonment of a term not exceeding three years or both” reads Section 22 (5)
of the Bill.
The same penalties applies to transporters of solid waste
who litter the roads when waste is blown off by wind on transit to dump sites.
In a sitting Chaired by the Speaker, Anthony Gathumbi,
Members supported the Bill noting that it would rid urban centres of waste and
ensure the responsibility of managing solid waste starts at the production
level.
“Solid waste management is a major problem for many urban
areas or cities in Kenya, where urbanization, industrialization and economic
growth have resulted in increased solid waste generation per person” noted Rose
Njeru while moving the Second Reading of the Bill on behalf of the Environment
Committee Chairperson Elisha Mwangi.
Njeru further noted that environment related matters
comprise one of the biggest challenges of the twenty first century and that it
is one of the most legislated subjects in the world.
In support of the Bill, Caroline Muriithi said it was the collective
responsibility of each person in the community to protect the environment.
mechanisms for management of highest sustainable standards in solid waste
management by ensuring there were contracts for provision of services to
collect and transport waste.
Further, for the first time, electronic waste, commonly
known as e-waste, has been recognized as a major polluter and will be
categorized on its own alongside market, industrial, hazardous, plastic and
biomedical wastes.
Deputy Speaker Joel Wagura said the Bill
will provide a legal framework for the management of solid waste. “I feel it
will address the issues we have had on the management of solid waste in the county,”
he pointed out.
Owners of houses will also be required to maintain
cleanliness for a radius of ten metres of their premises while the County
Government has been obligated to provide waste collection containers in the
streets. Transporters will be required to provide waste bags fully branded in
the company’s name complete with colour codes for various wastes. Green for
organic waste, Blue for plastic/paper waste and brown for any other waste.
“The county government has a responsibility of providing
containers where garbage and other wastes will be collected. There are
restrictions as to those who will not heed to these regulations to make our
county clean” said Simon Waititu while supporting the bill.
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