WASTE BINS:

WASTE BIN, ITS WORK IN VAIN

By Maritim Kipngetich

WASTE BINS: People do not use waste bins in towns. They prefer drawing waste beside them.

Waste bins that have been placed in strategic places in towns may not be serving the purpose they were intended for.

Most people ignore it and most of them are fond of not placing the wastes into the bin. They just walk near it and drop the waste beside the container.

This raises a question, why do people ignore these containers that are meant to make our towns cleaner? Is it true that people do not want their towns clean?

Meet Josphat Kinyanjui, a Nairobi resident, who said some people are just ignoring waste bins intentionally.

“How can you ignore a waste bin and drop whatever you want to draw just besides the container? Some people need to be taught manners. They do this here (Nairobi) intentionally,“ he says.

Kinyanjui says he is impressed about the steps county government has taken so far to deal with those people who draw waste in open places.

“There are these county workers called “kanjo”. They have really assisted in arresting and fining those who break the law of cabbage collection. Most of them are normally caught and taken to police station or they are told to pay instant fine of Ksh500,” Kinyajui says.

Containers that people should use to keep waste. Most people ignore these containers.

Nairobi County has invested millions of money in cabbage collection to make sure that the city is clean. In November last year Nairobi Governor Evans Kidero launched a new waste collection initiative dubbed Nairobi Integrated Urban Government Master plan.

The master was meant to improve the collection, transportation and disposal of wastes.

Cabbage collection project that was meant to eliminate waste within the city was not embraced positively by all people with some saying the bins are not evenly spread within the city.

“You find that waste bins are only concentrated within the city centre. In other parts of the city, one cannot find even one waste bin within a radius of 500 metres,” Elijah Obegi, a businessman in the outskirt of the city, says.

Obegi, however, encouraged people to use the bins if they are near where they are. In his view, if one cannot find the bin after covering some metres one can just dispose whatever waste one is carrying anywhere. He said, this is what is happening on the streets of suburb.

Cabbage collection has been encouraged across all the towns in Kenya and the county governments are the one in charge. This has greatly assisted in cleanness of the towns, although a lot of money is being used in this.