Industrialization and globalization have increased the quantity and quality of goods that
are produced and moved around the world mainly through trade. This has led to an
increased generation of waste since due to availability; items are discarded with no real
attachment or need for repair. Improved quality has seen the use of materials, which are
either synthetic or not common in high concentrations in natures living life cycles and
thus are potentially hazardous when released from consumer products into the
environment. The question of what to do with human trash has been of concern to every
society and over time, the concerned local authorities have set up waste collection and
disposal systems. There are numerous reasons why we need to be concerned with waste.
It is costly to dispose of, and the generation of large amounts of wastes impacts the
environment. Domestic and industrial discharges of waste contaminate air, land and
water with pollutants and toxics that can harm human and animal health and plant life.
Waste technologies must therefore grow hand in hand with changing societal
complexities to cope with the high volumes and new types of wastes produced. The
question of cost also arises and becomes significant where national economies are weak
or disorganized.
The paper gives an overview of the solid waste technology status in the capital city of a
slowly industrializing country in Africa, Kenya, and suggests a way forward in improving
waste technology. Currently the city, Nairobi, lacks an effective waste management
system leading to high possibilities of negative short and long-term impacts on human
health and the environment in general. To overcome these, there are wide ranges of
requirements and suggested solutions, which include creation and enforcement of waste
management policies as well as procedures, incentives, community participation,
education and awareness, proper waste collection procedures and disposal sites among
others.