The waste pickers of Nairobi’s Dandora dump site – in pictures

17 11 2023 | 16:57Joseph Limo, Tearfund / THE GUARDIAN

As officials prepare to gather in Nairobi, Kenya, for the third stage of talks on a UN plastic pollution treaty, new photos show the scale of the waste problem less than 8 miles from the UN Environment Programme building where the talks will take place. Nairobi’s Dandora dump site is one of the largest in Africa

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Smoke rises over mountains of waste and drifts into the Korogocho neighbourhood that borders the Dandora dump. Charles Maina, 40, a senior associate for informal livelihoods at Tearfund who grew up in Korogocho, said: ‘I have known the dump since it was a quarry, now it’s like mountains. What you see on the surface is just small, it’s like an iceberg.’
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Every minute in sub-Saharan Africa, enough plastic waste to cover a football pitch is openly dumped or burned, analysis by Tearfund has found. Tearfund will be at the talks in Nairobi advocating alongside those most affected by plastic pollution, including waste pickers fighting for their rights
 
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Children play on their school field at James Gichuru primary school as the burning of waste metres away produces toxic smoke. Tearfund’s Maina said: ‘The air pollution from burning plastic causes cancer, respiratory ailments such as asthma and emphysema, skin and eye diseases, and damage to the reproductive and nervous systems. This treaty must bring about changes for those who have suffered the effects of pollution for years, including those who live near the dumpsite.’
 
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Church leaders from across Africa have signed an open letter calling on negotiators to work for a treaty that delivers ‘change for our most vulnerable brothers and sisters’. The Rev Dennis Nthenge, who will be at the talks with Tearfund, said: ‘Plastic use in Africa is spiralling out of control. It is crucial this treaty delivers real change for communities across Africa.’
 
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The treaty could be the first legally binding global agreement on plastic pollution. Tearfund is calling for the treaty to reduce plastic production, recognise and support waste pickers and scale up waste collection and recycling for the 2 billion people who do not currently have access to it
 
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Plastic waste blocks drainage channels in a community of homes next to Dandora. Tearfund research recently found that plastic pollution was putting more than 200 million of the world’s poorest people at risk of more severe and frequent flooding. It says the treaty must address this by reducing plastic production and scaling up waste collection
 
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Fumes from burning waste can be extremely damaging to health. In some countries, burning waste is also the single largest source of climate emissions. Tearfund research has previously found that up to a million people a year are dying from illnesses and diseases caused by exposure to uncollected waste and plastic pollution
 
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There are approximately 20 million waste pickers globally, who collect almost 60% of all the plastic that is recycled each year. In many areas they are the backbone of the recycling system and the experts in their field. The International Alliance of Waste Pickers is calling for the treaty to deliver justice for waste pickers, recognising their role and delivering better pay, working conditions and access to the social safety net
 
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Winfred Wanjira, 36, the organising secretary of the Kenyan National Waste Pickers Welfare Association, will be at the UN talks in Nairobi. She has worked as a waste picker at Dandora for 18 years, joining her mum at the dumpsite when the family could no longer afford school fees. ‘We continue to ask the government to help us with health cover. When a waste picker is sick, they cannot afford to get medical care,’ she said.
 
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Paul Muhihi Warugu, 37, a resident of Dandora, has been a waste picker since he was 13. ‘It is important that the treaty looks at the people working at the dumpsite and makes them a priority; it is important to ensure that real waste pickers are consulted,’ he said.
 
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Grace Wanjiku, Francis Ochieng Baraza and Agnes Wanjiru sort through plastic waste at Dandora. Wanjiku, 23, said: ‘A lot of people who work at the dump site are not treated with respect. It is important for governments to know that there are people whose livelihood depends on the dump site.’
 

 

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People sort recyclables to sell. Waste pickers are calling for fairer pay, better working conditions, protective equipment and health cover as part of the treaty. Grace Wanjiku said: ‘There needs to be training for people for life after the dump site. People have the skills but they are fearful because they do not know who will hold their hands and support them.’

 

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UN negotiators will be debating the treaty as life goes on for residents and waste pickers in Dandora
 

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