Nairobi: Improper baby diaper disposal has been a long-standing issue which still remains as the most pressing matter affecting the lives of many residents of Migori County.
According to Kenya News Agency, Migori County loses Sh800 million annually due to poor sanitation, including losses related to solid waste management such as poor baby diaper disposal.
This has been the trend within the region and particularly, Kadika areas in the suburbs of Migori town, where the baby diapers are disposed alongside the local roads and pathways, risking the lives of people in the area. The baby diapers have become an eyesore and a major pollutant to many people residing in Kadika settlement and elsewhere, because of the irresponsible dumping of the non-biodegradable garbage, which do not break down in time, ending-up in interfering with the environment, said one of the residents, Milka Odeny.
With this problem, residents now want urgent intervention by health and environmental authorities to address environmental concerns, public health issues and various challenges facing the people in the region. Mr. Tom Togo, the Migori County Director National Environment Management Authority (NEMA), said that there are national policies which addresses diapers and other biodegradable waste disposal, which would be used to solve the current issues on pollution.
‘We only need strong collaboration with the local government and the members of the public to manage such waste in Kadika and elsewhere, to protect the environment in line with the 2010 Constitution, which gave the County government the solid management mandate. It’s the responsibility of County government to manage solid waste,’ Togo explained. NEMA as an environmental watchdog, has also been of help by chipping in where they discover all is not well, as they are able to collaborate with the County government to tackle the pressing issues by launching awareness campaigns and providing guidance on sustainable disposal methods.
They also provide established designated drop-off points for used diapers, where they are taken to reduce environmental pollution and through this, they help to promote community’s health. Mr. Togo said that the County government works day and night to manage the collection of wastes, but it has faced uphill task controlling uncoordinated dumping by members of the public, leading to unnecessary environmental pollution.
‘There are penalties which exist for illegal waste disposal by members of the public, are not enforced. The penalties can be used on the people to help limit haphazard dumping in the region,’ he said. Poor baby diaper disposal in Migori County has been attributed to a combination of social, economic and infrastructural factors such as rising population that has triggered an increase in the number of infants and young children.
With this rapid urbanization, it has often resulted in overcrowding as families struggle to find adequate spaces for proper disposal in most places where they reside, and which lack pit latrines to dispose of their wastes, leading to dumping in public spaces and even roadsides. Proper waste disposal services are limited as many residents who reside far from designated waste collection points, are forced to dispose of their waste improperly in areas which are not designated.
Another crucial factor in this issue of diaper disposal is lack of awareness among caregivers and parents about the environmental and health consequences associated with improper disposal. Many families may not fully understand that used diapers contain harmful pathogens and can contribute to further health risks if not managed correctly and through this people are misguided on the perspectives of waste management.
Poor baby diaper disposal has presented many negative effects, including landfills, where they take hundreds of years to decompose leading to an overflow of waste on the environment nearby. These used diapers have many other health implications. Mr. Kenneth Otumu, the In-Charge of Sanitization Department at the Migori Referral Hospital, said that ‘due to the improper baby diaper disposal, an outbreak of cholera occurred in the region and one death and 53 cases of cholera disease was recorded.
The strong odors from these diapers has also contributed to serious air pollution on the environment as the waste are poorly disposed, leading to destruction of the lifestyle of the local people. In response to this growing crisis, there are various initiatives put in place by the County government to help mitigate disposal of this waste as they have established designated disposal bins, specifically for diapers, making it more convenient for people to dispose them-off responsibly.
The local government has also launched educational campaigns to inform parents about proper disposal of these used diapers and also carrying out assessments and baseline surveys online which is targeting the populations in town and through these surveys feedback is given out from their people by answering some questionnaires provided. Victor Ouso an Environmental Officer, who is also In-Charge of waste management in Migori County said that ‘waste management is their key issue mandate as they are responsible for refuse collection, refuse dumping and disposal’.
He also added that, ‘They have a routine for waste collection where trucks move from one place to another to collect garbage and take it to the respective places, where some are burnt to keep the environment clean, where everyone will be dreaming to stay always.