Written By Vanessa Kariuki ||
The UN General Assembly (UNGA) adopted a resolution on December 14, 2022, designating March 30 as the International Day of Zero Waste, to be celebrated every year beginning in 2023.
The day’s objectives are to encourage the transition to a circular economy, promote sustainable consumption and production habits, and increase public understanding of the role that zero-waste efforts play in the 2030 Plan for Sustainable Development.
The loss of biodiversity and the degradation of nature are three aspects of the triple planetary crisis that the garbage industry greatly contributes to.
Just 55% of the municipal solid waste produced by humanity each year is managed in facilities under supervision, amounting to 2.24 billion tons.
Around 931 million tons of food are lost or discarded each year, as well as up to 14 million tons of plastic trash.
During a speech at the UN Complex in Nairobi for the International Day on Zero Waste, Mamo B. Mamo, Director General of the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA), said that everyone has a responsibility to manage their waste in their immediate surroundings in order to uphold the right to a clean and healthy environment guaranteed by the Constitution of 2010.
“The right to a clean and healthy environment enshrined in the Constitution 2010 comes with a responsibility that everyone has a duty to manage their waste within their surrounding,” said NEMA DG.
Until Kenya outlawed plastic bags in 2017, retail chains released 100 million bags into the environment each year.
The use, production, and importation of the prohibited bags have all been much reduced thanks to NEMA’s efforts, which have boosted recycling efforts and awareness campaigns.
