Page 28 - AT

A28 SCIENCE
Wednesday 12 december 2018

Africa’s solid waste is growing, posing a climate threat

By TOM ODULA
Associated Press
NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) —
No one would envy a life
of scavenging in Kenya’s
biggest landfill, but Daniel
Kiarie says he would never
leave it.
Birds circle overhead and
dogs scuffle as the 35-year-
old moves through the filth
of Nairobi, intent on useful
finds. Ground-up garbage,
from used hospital needles
to battered toys, crunches
under his feet. Thirty pun-
gent acres stretch out be-
fore him at the center of
the city’s poorest slums.
“This is like any other job,”
Kiarie said.
“I would not leave it for a
cozy office.” In blue over-
alls, he oversees a hill of
plastics he has salvaged
to sell to recycling compa-
nies. “And I am not mad.”
As the world meets again to
tackle the growing threat
of climate change, Africa
expects to suffer the most In this photo taken Wednesday, Dec. 5, 2018, a woman who scavenges recyclable materials from garbage for a living is seen
from rising temperatures. through a cloud of smoke from burning trash, surrounded by Marabou storks who feed on the garbage, at the dump in the Dandora
And it is least equipped to slum of Nairobi, Kenya.
fight back. Associated Press
How the continent will a report earlier this year. management, excluding “This includes the policy- Unfortunately, investment
tackle the solid waste pro- The fastest-growing regions transportation, the bank’s makers down to the con- in such projects in Africa is
duced by its more than for waste generation are report said. sumers.” still seen as high-risk by the
1.2 billion residents, many sub-Saharan Africa and Safe, sustainable solid Transitioning to a greener private sector, Godfrey
of them eager consumers South Asia, where it is ex- waste management could economy and sustainable said. She said strong politi-
in growing economies, is pected to triple and dou- be an engine for eco- waste management will cal will is needed.
a major question for envi- ble, respectively, by 2050, nomic growth, Sales said. require informal workers Kiarie knows the risks of his
ronmentalists and govern- the World Bank said in a Recycling and innovative like Kiare to become part current work. Landslides in
ments alike. September report . By then, products could create jobs of a recognized system, dumps can be deadly. The
Most African countries the regions will be pro- while addressing social and following health and envi- threat of injury or infection
lack the resources need- ducing 35 percent of the environmental issues. ronmental guidelines and is high. The landfill where
ed to process the grow- world’s trash. But governments would receiving stable incomes he roams, Dandora, was
ing amount of solid waste, Much of the waste in low- have to sign on and rec- and benefits in return. deemed full in 2001. Yet it
said Maria Leonor Sales, a income countries, about 90 ognize the value of landfill Experts say recycling com- continues to operate, sup-
consultant with the African percent, is openly dumped pickers like Kiarie and the panies then can be more porting people from the
Development Bank. Nearly or burned. roughly 600 others who join efficient and have a guar- bottom rungs of Nairobi’s
20 of the world’s 50 biggest That contributes to wors- him there every day. anteed supply of raw ma- economy.
dumpsites are on the con- ening air quality while the “Perceptions are one of terials. Kiare’s previous job as a
tinent, according to Waste poor are most affected, the main challenges as Africa has the opportunity day laborer in construction
Atlas. the World Bank said. people do not view waste to unlock at least $8 bil- paid him $5 but he would
On top of that, Africa is The burning of waste is a as a resource,” said Cath- lion every year in resource go without work for long
now a dumping ground key contributor to climate erina Schenck, a professor value into the economy periods, which almost got
for waste from other, often change. In 2016, 5 percent with the University of the by changing the way we him evicted. Now he can
developed, countries, U.N. of global emissions were Western Cape in South Af- think about waste, said Pro- take home between $10
Environment pointed out in generated from solid waste rica who has researched fessor Linda Godfrey, an and $50 a day from recy-
waste pickers. expert on waste manage- cling.
ment with the South Africa- He has moved into a big-
based Council for Scientific ger house and is now mar-
and Industrial Research. ried with three children.
The African Union has said Most Kenyans, who look
member countries should down on those who work
divert 50 percent of the in the country’s sprawling
waste they produce to re- landfills, live below $2 a
cycling, reuse and recov- day.
ery by 2030. Currently, the “Nowadays I don’t hear
continent recycles only 4 from the landlord,” he
percent. said.q