Solid Waste Management and Recycling

TRADE AND RECYCLING OF URBAN INORGANIC SOLID WASTE IN NAIROBI 169

It is apparent from the table above that dump pickers retrieve more waste on average
than street pickers Waste at the dump, is concentrated in one area and less time is spent
on segregation. On the other hand, materials recovered by street pickers fetch higher
prices. The reasons are:

• Street pickers retrieve relatively cleaner waste materials compared to dump pick-
  ers Waste materials obtained from the streets, often proximate to the point of gen-
  eration, are much cleaner and immediately saleable while waste reclaimed from
  the dump is dirtier and fetches lower prices. Plastics and bottles for instance need
  more thorough cleaning while tin cans are set on fire to remove the paint and res-
  idues. The costs of re-using or recycling materials obtained at the dump is thus
  made higher by the process of cleaning, leaving a lower profit margin.


• The dealers that street pickers sell pickings to offer better prices than those at the
  dump. Traders at the dump control prices much more effectively while street
  pickers on the other hand sell to dealers located further apart from one another,
  making this more difficult.

Specialisation or monoculture garbage collection, as defined by Odegi-Awuondo
(1994), apparently is non-existent among the two groups of pickers Any item
perceived to be valuable either in terms of marketability or re-usability is salvaged.
The main differentiating factor between the materials preferences between street and
dump pickers is the capacity of the material to withstand damage and corrosion during
collection, transport and disposal, and the demand by large waste recyclers
Odegi-Awuondo (1994) found that the most popular items for street waste pickers are
paper, scrap metal and bottles. Dump waste pickers prefer plastic, bones and scrap
metals. Fairly extensive segregation of waste therefore is undertaken at various stages
prior to final disposal. In addition, proportions that survive this separation are prone
to much spoilage as they get mixed with other wet and dirty waste materials. This may
explain the preponderance of waste plastics amongst dump pickers and that of paper

Table 8.1. Types of materials average quantities (kg.) and prices (Ksh.)

for street and dump pickers

Material Street pickers,
no. (percent)

Prices in

Ksh./kg/pcs

Amount p/

day in kg

Dump pickers,

no. (percent)

Price-in

Ksh./kg/pcs

Amount

per/day

Paper
Plastic
W/bottles*
B/glass**
Bones
Steel
Scrap iron

50 (73)

23 (34)

29 (43)

17 (25)

25 (37)

23 (34)

30 (44)

2

2.50

1-10 p/pc

2.50

3

2.50

2.50

6

4

9 pcs

5

3

3

4

44 (60)

60 (81)

26 (35)

37 (50)

53 (72)

41 (55)

46 (62)

2

3

1-8/pc

2

3

1

2

5

4

0-30

5

3

3

4

• W/bottles – whole bottles
  ** B/glass – broken glass (vunjika)