NAIROBI: Who is to blame for that garbage you jump and skip over before you open the door to your residence? The county government?
Maybe not.
Sylvan Muturi, an environment activist in Nairobi, says individuals have failed to keep their surroundings clean.
“What explains the tonnes of garbage next to our doors or windows? Where does the litter come from even after authorities clean the mess? This is where we fail in our bid to live in clean places in the estates. We are yet to internalise the fact that we are the primary sources of the garbage we live with in the streets, estates or even our offices. It is not fair for us to castigate the authorities wherever garbage piles up. We should play our part before we shift the blame,” says Ms Muturi.
As a result of the garbage, most drainage paths are blocked during the rainy season causing massive floods ending in fatalities.
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“Did we see the link between blocked water ways and the recent floods in some estates? Much of this was caused by garbage thrown from the comfort of our car windows, homes and our executive offices. The point is that no laws will govern us on environment matters. The only solution is to be responsible for our garbage, as at the end of the day, it affects us all.”
Helen Ochieng’, a conservationist from Migori County, says the only way citizens can demand services from authorities is by first taking a step in dealing with garbage generated at the household level.
Instead of throwing dirt through the window of a moving car, it is good for you to carry it until you reach your destination and then put it in the provided bins.
County governments should be praised for providing bins along the streets for people’s convenience. Unfortunately, some dump their rubbish next to the bins provided.
While there is a lot of literature about contaminated water and its effects on consumers’ health, you will still find adults pouring dirt into fresh water sources. When this dirty water is used by others down stream and diseases such as cholera and other water-borne diseases break out, they are the first to complain.
“Dirty water takes a toll on our families first before affecting government.
Let’s think about this before we poison our waters,’’ says Ms Ochieng’.
She advises that household members should stop having baths along river banks and that people should come up with regular communal environmental clean-up days.
“Such a simple action will contribute to the safety of our waters, saving us the expense and time spent in hospitals due to avoidable water-borne diseases. It will also go a long way in preventing deaths,’’ she points out.
