TRADE AND RECYCLING OF URBAN INORGANIC SOLID WASTE IN NAIROBI 163
economic mobility and motivations of the entrepreneurs were studied. Close exami-
nation of the types of partnerships, types of co-operation, and conflicts and tensions,
helped assess their impacts on effective SWM and sustainable development.
8.2. INORGANIC WASTE DEFINED
Inorganic waste refers to waste composed of material other than plant or animal
matter. This includes sand, dust, glass and many other synthetics. Research on SWM
however normally considers waste materials such as paper, sand, dust, glass, plastic,
rubber, metal, bones, textiles and leather as inorganic although they are arguably
organic. The unique aspect of inorganic waste is its non- or slow biodegradability, as
a result of which its disposal presents particularly ominous implications on the
capacity of local and global waste sinks.
Regulatory framework and policies related to inorganic waste recovery and recycling
In making SWM more environmentally friendly, waste minimisation, recovery, reuse
and recycling of waste materials should be incorporated in existing waste management
strategies. In its regulations on solid waste management, Kenya’s policy, like those of
many other developing countries, does not mention the recovery, reuse and recycling
of urban inorganic solid waste. However, with the increase in waste flows and the
problems faced by the municipal authority in managing the waste efficiently and
effectively, more attention will have to be paid to such activities. The Environmental
Management and Co-ordination Act of 1999 (EMCA, as discussed in chapter 4)
promises to do so but has yet to be implemented.
Policies influencing waste recovery and recycling
The recovery, reuse and recycling of inorganic solid waste in Nairobi is not perceived
as a municipal concern or of any relevance to NCC’s mandate for SWM. The city
neither sponsors nor espouses the recycling, recovery or separation of inorganic waste
in policy or practice (Lamba, 1994). Existing activities relating to these processes are
openly obstructed and legally undermined, particularly the lower levels. Waste
picking activities in Nairobi remain officially unrecognised, socially unaccepted and
highly stigmatised. To the NCC and city dwellers, waste pickers are a nuisance group
of criminals (Hake, 1977: 179-83, Syagga 1997).
Small-scale waste recycling is similarly not recognised as an activity relevant to SWM
and reducing environmental stresses. Even in academic evaluations of small-scale
recycling enterprises, (see for instance McCormick (1991) issues of industrialisation
and growth take precedence in theoretical considerations. The studies in this area do
not examine environmental or public health issues in relation to jua kali activities in
which inorganic waste materials are used.