Effects of disposing used baby diapers

By Nneka Nwogwugwu

The disposal of diapers is a major headache for many households in the rural and urban areas in which no solution has been provided.

In early 2000, when baby diapers had just arrived in Kenyan shops, the demand for the product was generally low, All Africa stated in a recent report.

A 2012 report, Baby Diapers Market – Middle East, Africa, and India, Industry Scenario, Size, Share, Value Chain Analysis & Forecast, 2011-2017, said that out of 70,000 babies born in Kenya every year, only four per cent were using diapers.

Pampers, which was the most common diaper brand on the market at the time, was believed to be a commodity only consumed by middle-class families and not many people were using the diapers.

By 2013, however, the diaper market had shot to Sh2.5 trillion, prompting other manufacturers to join in to satisfy the growing demand in Kenya.

Kenyan shoppers now have more than 10 brands to choose from.

In the 2021-22 budget, Treasury Cabinet Secretary Ukur Yatani announced that imports of raw materials for the manufacture of baby diapers would be duty-free for the next year.

While the duty-free nature of the product has lowered its cost, making it more affordable and readily available to low and middle-class families, their disposal has been a major headache in Kenya.

The middle and upper classes can pay a garbage collector to collect and transport the waste to the Kachok dumpsite.

This, however, is not a permanent remedy as the indecomposable material continues to pile up at the site without any environment-friendly remedy.

For slum residents, burning the waste or collecting it for garbage collectors are the only options.

Previously, many slum dwellers would dispose of used diapers in pit latrines, which would fill up faster.

A 30-year-old Andrew Omollo while sorting garbage collected from 10 houses, ensured he separates baby diapers from other household waste.

“We throw them along the roads and in the backyards and because they do not decompose, some always end up in sewers,” he admits.

“Burning them using kerosene is not easy, because of the nature of the raw material used in making them.

“Throwing them out or transporting them to the nearby Kachok dumpsite are the only solutions.

“In such cases, we wait till nightfall before we can throw away the waste in various prohibited locations. Many landlords here cannot afford to transport the household garbage to the main dumpsite,” he said.

Last month September, the Kenya Environmental Action Network, in partnership with the Kisumu Environmental Champions, held the International Climate Strike in Kisumu to draw attention to historical injustices on climate and the environment.

The activists said baby diapers, which are non-biodegradable, often end up in rivers and later in freshwater lakes and harm aquatic life.

“We will continue with the strikes until our county governments wake up to action,” said Mr Kevin Mtai, one of the organisers.

Similar strikes have been held in Eldoret, Nairobi, Voi and Mombasa following concerns about plastic and diaper pollution on the environment.

Tom Togo, the Kisumu County boss for the environment watchdog Nema, says everyone is to blame for environmental pollution, including users, county governments and policymakers.

He says while it is the role of county governments to provide garbage disposal methods for residents, this has not been the case when it comes to diaper disposal.

At the moment, all the solid waste in Kisumu ends up at Kachok dumpsite while diapers pile up every time garbage trucks empty the waste.

For better disposal procedures, counties should provide well-labelled bins specifically for diapers, suggests Mr Togo.

“The generators, who are the nursing mothers, will then be entrusted with the responsibility of separating the waste before dumping it in bins to avoid mixing it up with decomposable waste,” he says.

The waste can then be transported to a central place where it will be incinerated to ensure it is destroyed.