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The Nyeri County government is in the process of formulating plans for the construction of a new dumpsite. The dumpsite will be transformed to an industry for converting garbage to bio-degradable materials. According to Nyeri County Chief of Staff Duncan Maina, the county government had advertised for tenders from land owners willing to participate in the process by offering their land. The dumpsite construction is an on-going process started by the Kenya Municipal Programme and taken up by the present Nyeri County government. Mr Maina said that the project which is being funded by the World Bank is expected to be completed by 2015. He said that the county government had hired a firm that will conduct feasibility studies regarding the suitability of the land for construction purposes. "The firm is now testing the ground's suitability and the water levels required in order to help us in choosing the right location for the dumpsite construction," he said. Once the construction of the dumpsite is over, the county government is hoping to curb the garbage menace. Nyeri County Executive Member in charge of Environment, Mr Gachanja Ngunyangi had earlier said that the dumpsite will be centralised so that it can serve all towns within the county besides Nyeri Town . He also disclosed that the county government was exploring possibilities of outsourcing some facilities and services from the private sector. He said this has been necessitated by insufficient facilities owned by the county government, which currently has seven garbage collection trucks but only two of them are functional. The county has a high population and it is impossible to offer effective services with only two trucks, he added. The county government will be left with the mandate of managing and controlling the dumpsite after outsourcing other services. Mr Ngunyangi said the county authorities would consult with members of the public in order to come up with legislation that will govern garbage collection. The move will help in job creation for hundreds of jobless youths from the county as well as increase revenue for the county. The dumpsite construction is also aimed at restoring the lost glory of Nyeri County which was ranked one of the cleanest towns in the country in early 1990s, Mr Ngunyangi said. Garbage still remains uncollected in many estates despite numerous complaints by residents who say it exposes them to serious health risks. Currently, the main dumpsite is located at the Asian Quarters estate in Nyeri and is in a pathetic condition. The stench emanating from the rotting garbage has made many people relocate from the estate to other parts of the town. The houses have been abandoned and now thugs have taken the opportunity to loot window and door grilles leaving them as good hide outs for criminal gangs.
