NAIROBI, Nov. 24 (Xinhua) -- Growing up at a semi-permanent house located on the banks of the Nairobi river, Winnie Achieng felt irked by the heavy load of plastic waste that used to be dumped nearby, posing grave health risks to local residents.
The 22-year-old Achieng has joined a growing band of grassroots eco-warriors on the frontline of clearing solid waste from a once pristine river that snakes through low-income suburbs of the Kenyan capital of Nairobi.
Achieng is a member of a youth-led grassroots conservation lobby that has taken up clearing plastic debris from the Nairobi River with gusto to help restore the ecological integrity of their neighborhood while tackling poverty and social ills like crime and drug abuse.
"We not only remove plastic litter from the Nairobi river but also hand over the waste to recyclers who later convert it into useful products like pavements and poles," Achieng told Xinhua during an interview this week.
At the low-income settlement of Kariadudu, located on the eastern fringes of Nairobi, a plastic capture device provided by Chemolex Company Limited, a social enterprise, has aided efforts by local green groups to remove solid waste from the Nairobi river.
Clifford Okoth, the director and team leader of Chemolex, said a dozen plastic capture devices have been installed along heavily polluted downstream sections of the Nairobi river to boost the clearing of solid matter.
Okoth said his organization has provided the capacity to informal settlements' youth to enable them to operate the innovative device that has eased the capture of plastic debris from the river.
"By installing these devices at strategic locations, we have ensured that plastic removal from the Nairobi River by the youth is easier and risk-free. This innovation is definitely a game changer in the circular economy," said Okoth.
He disclosed that his enterprise buys plastic waste collected from the Nairobi River by slum youth, dispatching it to a recycling facility where it is converted into materials for paving roads.
According to Okoth, his organization has championed a socially and commercially viable model of tackling plastic pollution in Nairobi's low-income settlements.
He added that through a partnership with dozens of youth-led green groups in the city, plastic waste collection, sorting, and recycling into useful products has received much-needed vitality.
Statistics from Kenya's Ministry of Environment and Forestry indicate that plastics comprise 20 percent of an estimated 2,400 tons of solid waste generated in Nairobi daily.
To overcome the plastic pollution crisis in the capital city, the government has rolled out a set of policies and regulatory incentives to promote the collection and recycling of this harmful debris by local youth groups and start-ups.
Isaiah Ochieng, the 32-year-old founder of a self-help group located in Nairobi's Kariadudu village, said plastic litter that was previously an eyesore in his neighborhood has turned into a treasure for local youth.
Ochieng said youthful members of his organization have rehabilitated a nearby dumpsite filled with plastic waste besides converting some heavily polluted Nairobi river banks into a green oasis.
"Our motto is 'keep clean and green', and we look forward to a future where plastic waste is no longer a menace in our neighborhood," said Ochieng.
"We have encouraged the youth to undertake plastic waste collection as a financially rewarding vocation that will also shield them from falling into crime," he added.
Christine Auma, a 30-year-old eco-warrior who was born and raised at an informal settlement adjacent to Nairobi River, said her decision to embark on clearing plastic debris in her locality every week was informed by the need to secure a clean and healthy environment for upcoming generations.
Auma noted that courtesy of the dedication of her youthful peers, her neighborhood, which was once a dumping site for all manner of solid waste, is now sparkling with greenery amid regular clean-up exercises and restored vegetation on the banks of Nairobi river.
In addition to establishing a green park near the river, Auma said her organization has also partnered with several enterprises to secure a steady market for plastic waste collected in her densely populated suburb.
At the heart of the sprawling Korogocho slum where the Nairobi river meanders with ease, Joab Misura, the 25-year-old founder of a youth-led green lobby, is on the frontline of converting plastic-filled river banks into serene green parks.
Misura said more than 20 members of his organization are earning a weekly stipend from collecting plastic bottles dumped at a landfill adjacent to the Nairobi river and selling them to established recyclers in the city.
According to Misura, the conversion of landfills laden with plastic waste into havens of greenery has generated financial rewards for Korogocho slum' youth amid goodwill from local corporates and international charities. ■
