Sådan er det også i flere andre storbyer i Østafrika, hvor bystyret er i pengetrang og ikke afsætter midler nok til skraldhentning – det overlades til private aktører, som fjerner skidtet, hvis man ellers vil og kan betale – altimens stadig flere strømmer til storbyernes lys og muligheder.
NAIROBI, 13 March 2013 (IRIN): As the urban population in Nairobi and elsewhere in East Africa grows, so does the solid waste (skrald /affald) management burden – a situation worsened by poor funding for urban sanitation departments and a lack of enforcement of sanitation regulations.
At least 100 million people in East Africa lack access to improved sanitation (sanitære installationer), according to UN sources.
“Due to budgetary deficiencies (underskud), solid waste management is not a priority of the town authorities. In addition, insufficient public awareness and enforcement of legislation is also a hindrance,” Andre Dzikus, coordinator of the urban basic services section of the UN Human Settlement Programme (UN-HABITAT), told IRIN.
In Nairobi, a large percentage of solid waste is managed by the private sector and NGOs because the city council lacks adequate capacity, says Dzikus.
The city council’s solid waste department, like those in Kampala and Dar es Salaam, is not well equipped, with transport vehicles few and often poorly serviced, despite increasing waste quantities due to rapid urbanization, he added.
Understaffing and a lack of skilled staff in waste management is also a challenge.
Without proper controls, solid waste is often dumped in abandoned quarries (stenbrud) or similar sites.
In Nairobi, for example, municipal waste is taken to the Dandora dumping site, a former quarry some 15km east.
Toxic fumes in Mathare
In the Mathare slum area, residents live close to one such dumpsite, which exposes them to environmental and disease risks, said Dzikus.
“Burning plastic produces very toxic fumes (giftige dampe), such as furans (se neden for) and dioxins, which are very harmful to human beings and the environment. Most of the uncontrolled dumpsites are some of the major sources of greenhouse gases contributing to global climate change,” he added.
Although Nairobi has a sanitation policy, the Environmental Sanitation and Hygiene Policy 2007, which recognizes the role of NGOs, community-based organizations (CBOs) and the Kenya Water and Sanitation Network (KEWASNET), often there is little collaboration in service delivery.
This is the conclusiom of a February report, “Comparing urban sanitation and solid waste management in East African metropolises: The role of civil society organizations”.
“Sanitation service delivery for the urban poor is a disconnected pluralism (uden forbindelse mellem) between government and NGOs/CBOs institutions,” it states.
Living with waste
Læs videre på
http://www.irinnews.org/Report/97638/Kenya-s-waste-management-challenge
Om furan
Furan, (af lat. furfur ‘klid’ og -an), C4H4O, furfuran, farveløs væske med en kloroformagtig lugt; kogepunkt 31 °C. Furan er giftig, virker lokalirriterende på huden, og indånding kan give lungeødemer
