The issue of open-air landfills in East Africa, particularly the Dandora dump in Kenya, raises significant environmental and societal concerns. This large dump, spanning around thirty acres, is one of the largest in East Africa and receives a majority of Nairobi’s solid waste. Among the waste, food is also discarded, which poses both environmental and food security challenges.
Waste pickers like Anne Wangui earn a modest living by salvaging food waste from the landfill and selling it to pig farmers. While this provides her with a source of income, the presence of food waste in landfills contributes to ecological footprints, greenhouse gas emissions, and inefficient use of resources required for food production.
A recent United Nations report highlighted that the world wasted approximately 1.05 billion tonnes of food in 2022, equivalent to 19% of global food production that year. This alarming statistic emphasizes the urgent need to transform food systems to reduce such massive losses.
Henry Ng’ethe, from the Kenya Nutrition Society, stresses the importance of addressing food waste along the entire production and consumption chain. With 811 million people worldwide suffering from hunger and one-third of food produced being lost due to inefficiencies in food systems, there is a critical need for concerted efforts to reduce food losses.
James Lomax, a program manager, recommends action on food systems to combat waste effectively. In Kenya alone, approximately 4.9 million tonnes of food are wasted annually, necessitating a reevaluation of production, consumption habits, and waste management practices to create a more sustainable future for all.