Open dumpsite poses major health risk, experts warn

The open garbage dump in Mwakirunge poses a major health risk to the local communities and is also an environmental hazard, an assessment by experts has revealed.

A report unveiled in Mombasa by a group of university researchers recommends its permanent closure.

Speaking on Monday evening at the Royal Court Hotel, Kenyatta University School of Environmental Studies Dean James Kung'u said the dumpsite should be located outside the seaside city.

The report commissioned by ActionAid Kenya also says the site is a breeding ground for vermin and other potential carriers of communicable diseases such as diarrhoea and cholera.

Mombasa County, which produces about 800 tonnes of trash daily, uses open dumping as the only method of waste disposal.

"Rodents, insects and other vermin at the dumpsite pose a health risk, and it also continues to pose a danger to landing aircraft as it is located along a flightpath and already birds strike have been reported," said Prof Kung'u.

National Environmental Management Authority regional official Tampushi Leswam said the dumpsite was started in 2002 without an Environmental Impact Assessment as required by the law.

County Executive for Planning, Lands and Housing Francis Thoya said the county government is fast-tracking closure of the dumpsite.