As you enjoy your party, mind the garbage

As you eat and make merry, there will be plenty of food on the dinner table and drinks to down it all.

However, not all the food cooked will be eaten by family, friends and relatives.

One thing we may not be thinking about is how to manage the garbage or the waste that will come with the quantities of food to be bought and cooked.

This could be an environmental challenge and hazard.

During this period, the usual garbage collector may be away for days as he also enjoys the holidays. As a result, our homes or streets will be full of litter.

But this need not be the case.

Elizabeth Mwongela who lives in Nairobi’s Ngara estate says although she will cook a lot, she will spare a thought for the environment.

“We must not throw caution to the wind on matters environment. For instance, we should not throw bones outside the window. We may not find dogs to consume them. What will happen if they do not decompose? And this could also be a bother to our neighbours.”

She says she will have a collection point in a corner of her compound to ensure that the garbage collection agents find it easily.

This simple action, she says, will contribute to conserving the environment.

We found Kumar Chanendrar doing his final festivities shopping in a leading supermarket in the city centre.

“Festive season or no festive season, the environment must remain clean,” he says. “The point is that we must not throw garbage around and then wait to blame the city authorities for non-collection. Who in the first case generated the garbage? I will ensure that even my children become responsible. We also need to use this season to train ourselves to manage garbage at a time when those responsible for garbage collection are on leave. The environment is our responsibility.”

As a commitment to his words, he bought two plastic bags in which he will pile his garbage for easy collection.

Another simple way of managing garbage during this season, according to Nairobi resident Grace Njiraini, is to find a charity home to donate the extra food cooked.

This is an initiative she picked from her friend who visited her from England last year.

“During this season, we are all likely to cook more than we can consume. This will lead to a lot of waste. Instead of throwing it away, we can find a charity home. There are those families who may not be lucky to get a meal. The extra food will mean a lot to them and in the long run will afford you the simplest and most creative way of managing the waste in your home. We can conserve the environment by donating to the poor.”

She will be donating food to a charity home in Kayole, Nairobi, on Boxing Day.

Environmental activist Jeremiah Ndoria says those who spend time in public places must minimise garbage.

“We must dispose well the plastic bags we may use to carry food and gifts. It is not fair for us to toss them around as we drive into parks or on the roads. The same can be done with the food we consume outdoors.”