Hitachi Zosen Inova (HZI), a waste management technology provider based in Zurich, Switzerland, has announced plans to construct a waste-to-energy plant in Kenya.
The firm is collaborating with the environmental solutions company Sintmond Group to convert municipal waste into electricity and biofuel.
This initiative is in line with the Kenyan government’s plan to deploy the first waste-fuelled power plant in Ruai, 55km from the capital Nairobi.
Speaking on the sidelines of the Waste-to-Power conference held in Nairobi, Chief Executive Officer of Sintmond Group, Richard Gatu, said, “we are ready to help counties manage their waste management with our waste-to-energy (WtE) technologies. Waste contributes to global warming as one of the major sources of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Poor waste management ultimately hinders development.”
In a statement issued by Maureen Njeri, the Director of Environment, Water and Sanitation at the Nairobi Metropolitan Service (NMS), Kenya generate at least 8 million tonnes of waste annually. 70% of the waste is organic, 20% plastics, 10% paper, 1% medical waste and 2% metal.
According to the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA), almost half of this waste is generated in urban areas.
The city of Nairobi, for example, produces an average of 2,400 tonnes of waste daily, according to the World Bank. Most of this waste ends up in the Dandora landfill, which has been saturated since 2001.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com