INEFFICIENT WASTE MANAGEMENT PRACTICES CATALYSING THE CLIMATE CRISIS
- Oct 27, 2023
- 2 min read
Nairobi, Kenya 27th October 2023
Opinion Editorial
By Martin Mugambi Advocacy officer Kenya Platform for Climate Governance PACJA
Improper waste management is detrimental to ecosystem and contributes to climate change catastrophe The problem of waste management has become so rampant in different parts of the country with policy makers in urban centers, cities and towns forced to struggle how to manage waste with adverse consequences on the ecosystem.
With population increase, the amount of waste generated has increased as a result of this population rise forcing urban centre managers to re-evaluate how to dispose of the extra waste.
Greenhouse gases released to the ecosystem as a result of disposal or incineration of such waste is in turn causing long term effects on the environment. Urgent action is therefore of essence that if not taken many more people will continue to suffer negative effects of climate change.
The long effects include contain gene mutation in animals, non communicable diseases cancer is on the rise in addition to destruction of natural resources.
This has in turn affected sectors like in Agriculture with farmers continuing to reap lower and lower harvests while many others forced to emigrate to urban centres to seek employment. To address this issue we call upon the county government to implement policies put in place to aimed at regulating waste management at the county levels.
Additionally, there is a need to ensure national government and county governments implement the Sustainable Waste Management Act to ease the regulation of waste management in the country. The government must also strengthen the existing environmental centric institutions and parastatals in addition to increasing the number of enforcement officer monitoring the disposal of wastes in different parts of the country. There is a need for government to invest in environmental friendly initiatives by supporting individuals and organizations involved in recycling and reuse initiatives. This will help in reducing the amounts of greenhouse gas emissions released into the atmosphere.
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