The Effects of Solid Waste Dumping on Infrastructures and Human Health : Dandora Dump Site, Nairobi County
Abstract
Nairobi, the capital city of Kenya has a population of over 4 million.It is one of the most densely
populated cities in Eastern Africa. It has a population density of over 4000 persons per square
kilometer and is estimated to generate over 2000 tons of solid waste per day. This waste that is
collected on a daily basis is transported and dumped at Dandora Dumpsite, the only gazetted
dumpsite in Nairobi County.The study will concentrate onthe effects of solid waste dumping
on infrastructures and human health and: a case study of dandora dump site, nairobi county.
The dumping of solid waste at the dumpsite, studies have shown, leads to numerous
environmental challenges. It has been shown that currently, the County government and
previously, the City Council have not sustainably managed the large quantities of solid waste
thus attracting other actors such as waste collection companies, community based organizations,
resident associations and youth groups to offer support in alleviating the problem.This study
showed that the indiscriminate dumping of solid waste at Dandora Dumpsite affects negatively
the infrastructure of the area comprising of roads, drainages, water and sewerage systems,
electricity connections and premises. It also contributes to poor human health. The goal was to
analyze whether solid waste dumping near estates destroys infrastructures, degrades the
environment and endangers human health. The case study was based on Dandora Dumpsite in
Nairobi County. In an attempt to define this goal, the study was guided by the following other
objectives:To find out if dumping of solid wastes at Dandora Dumpsite causes destruction of
infrastructures such as roads and to find out whether the existence of the dumpsite has human
heath challenges.The Hypothesis for these study were; H0: There is minimal relationship amid
solid waste dumping and negative effects on infrastructure at Dandora.H1: There is a big
relationship amid solid waste dumping and negative effects on infrastructure at Dandora.H0:
There is minimal relationship amid solid waste dumping and negative effects on human health at
Dandora.H1: There is a big relationship amid solid waste dumping and negative effects on human
health at Dandora.Due to the nature of the target population in Dandora, the researcher used
simple random and purposive sampling methods; the former allows for random selection of
samples from the population, while the latter is a sampling technique that allows the use of
cases/persons that have the required information with respect to the objectives of the study
(Mugenda and Mugenda, 2003). Field data will be obtained from primary and secondary sources.
Primary sources of data refer to the firsthand information sources such as households, offices,
businesses and institutions who volunteered information to the researchers on request. 120
respondents who were interviewed.Secondary sources of data refer to such information sources
as books, journals, newspapers and other secondary materials. Both SPSS and Excel spreadsheet
softwares were used for the analysis. After obtaining the raw data set, it was sorted, edited,
cleaned and coded. The open-ended questions were manually analyzed by grouping responses
into similar themes, tallying them and obtaining frequencies by using excel spreadsheet.
Publisher
University of Nairobi
Rights
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 United StatesUsage Rights
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/us/Collections
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