Nanyuki residents up in arms over garbage dumped in their compounds

Residents of Nanyuki town and its environs are up in arms over the habit by Laikipia county government waste disposal department personnel for allegedly dumping garbage back into their homes if they failed to dispose it of appropriately.
For the past week, county waste disposal employees have been seen shoving heaps of garbage and trash into estate compounds where residents have been dumping their house waste on roadsides.
Residents in Cottage Estate on the outskirts of Nanyuki town, where the waste dumping has been taking place lately on their compounds are now fearing an outbreak of communicable diseases.
Ms. Tabitha Mwangi, a resident termed the action by the waste disposal employees as “barbaric” saying that the move was likely to bring about serious health complications for residents.
“How can someone in their right mind dump heaps of garbage in a compound where people live? We have children playing around and if they come into contact with the trash they will contract diseases,” Ms. Mwangi said.
Other residents affected by the action took to social media to register their anger. They accused the county waste disposal team of failing to come up with alternative ways of disposing of solid waste so that they stop dumping it by the roadsides.
Rhis Wanjiru, a resident wrote on social media, “The same happened sometime back at our estate. It was terrible as the stench was unbearable.”
Another resident, Philip Bundotich wrote, “This is bad because it will see the spread of diseases.”
Laikipia County Executive Committee member for Water and Environment Njenga Kahiro under whose docket garbage collection falls when contacted on phone denied that his workers were dumping garbage in people’s compounds.
“Our work involves collecting solid waste and ensuring that the environment is clean and safe, why would we then start dumping the same in homes and people’s compounds,” Kahiro said on phone.
He, however, added that some of the estates such as Cottage lay within Nyeri County noting that his department had no mandate collecting garbage in the neighbouring county.
“Sometimes we do it (collect garbage) out of courtesy since some of our employees live there but administratively Cottage lies in Nyeri county,” the CEC said.
Efforts to reach Nyeri CEC in charge of Environment Fredrick Kinyua on phone over the matter were fruitless as his phone went un-answered.
By Martin Munyi