By Hauwa Ali
A waste management technology provider based in Zurich, Switzerland, Hitachi Zosen Inova (HZI), in partnership with Kenya’s environmental solutions company, Sintmond Group and the Kenyan government has concluded plans to set up a waste to energy plant which will convert waste into electricity and fuel.
The collaboration which was announced at the Waste-to-Energy conference held in Nairobi recently, is expected to accelerate the construction of thr plant in Ruai near Nairobi.
This initiative is in line with the Kenyan government’s plans to set up the first waste-fuelled power plant in Ruai, located 55 km from the capital Nairobi.
“We are ready to help counties manage their waste management with our waste-to-energy (WtE) technologies. As one of the major sources of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, waste contributes to global warming. Poor waste management ultimately hinders development,” said Richmond Gatu, CEO of Sintmond Group, on the sidelines of
According to Maureen Njeri, the Director of Environment, Water and Sanitation at the Nairobi Metropolitan Service (NMS), Kenya generates at least 8 million tonnes of waste per year, of which 70% is organic waste, 20% is plastics, 10% is paper, 1% is medical waste and 2% is metal.
According to the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA), almost half of this waste is generated in urban areas.
The city of Nairobi, for example, produces an average of 2,400 tonnes of waste daily, according to the World Bank. Most of this waste ends up in the Dandora landfill, which has been saturated since 2001.