“People are not living here, they are only surviving,” says Father Maurizio Binaghi.

Dandora dump is a sprawling dumpsite, over 30 acres, in the heart of the Nairobi slums of Korogocho, Baba Ndogo, Mathare and Dandora. It opened in 1975 with World Bank funds and was deemed full by 2001. Described as a “perilous recycling economy”, the landfill puts food on the tables of around 3,000 families. Men, women and children pick through waste from trucks that arrive in the dump. They are looking for plastic, food, clothes, paper and bottles that they can sell for much-needed income. Scavenging on the dump is done manually with no protection gear and equipment, thus exposing the dumpsite workers to tremendous pollution and serious health complications. This case is a very accurate example of environmental injustice whereby the poor societies of Nairobi are impacted by waste dumped from the whole greater Nairobi region, and are polluted with toxins. Yet, it is explained as the best solution for all because the poor people actually get food from there and scavenge for materials to sell to the recyclers. Dumping in Dandora is unrestricted and includes industrial, agricultural, domestic and medical waste. Studies have confirmed the presence of dangerous elements such as lead, mercury, cadmium and PCBs which are seriously hazardous for humans. Due to the underdevelopment of scientific bodies in Kenya but also to political clashes, popular epidemiology has been used to prove sickness and mortality in Dandora. No official study or statistics have been undertaken, therefore the “lay” knowledge is as valid as the official one here and can be considered street science. Fortunately it is also true that Nairobi is a capital with much international regards and a seat at the EU Environmental Programme (UNEP); therefore it would be strange if the biggest environmental organization would neglect this environmental catastrophe happening just 8 km from its headquarters. UNEP has commissioned a couple of studies showing dangerously high levels of heavy metals in the surrounding environment and in the body of local residents. Lead and cadmium levels were 13,500 ppm and 1,058 ppm respectively, compared to the action levels in the Netherlands of 150 ppm/5ppm for these heavy metals.

Futhermore, The Nairobi River also passes by the dumpsite, worsening the situation. The Dandora dumpsite is a sad picture of a multiple tragedy. The City Council of Nairobi decommissioned the dumpsite in 2012, after 8 years of planning. However, conflict between the council and the Kenya Airports Authority over the relocation of the dumpsite to Ruai has brought the process to a grinding halt. The community sees no easy end to this largest and most flagrant violations to human right and environmental health in the country.

The Stockholm Convention on hazardous pollution, which Kenya has ratified, requires actions aimed at eliminating these pollutants. The promise to act was agreed by the government, interested stakeholders and the civil society. Many global NGOs have called upon Kenyan government representatives and stakeholders to honor the integrity of the Convention and keep the promise of reduction and elimination of those pollutants. In 2006 Italy also tried to propose a line of intervention that should have started from a feasibility study, but which vanished following the complaint of Father Alex Zanotelli for the lack of transparency of the operation.

Indeed, nothing has been done. On the contrary, more and more waste is addressed to the landfill and more and more is being permanently burned, more toxic substances leaching to the waters and air.

Of course, the enviroment needs to be at the center of all decision making but, as Wangari Maathai said, “You cannot protect the environment unless you empower people, you inform them, and you help them understand that these resources are their own, that they must protect them”.

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