The Environment in Developing Countries
If hell were to be described, Dandora would certainly be its best representation. Nevertheless, people manage to make a living from it. The chaotic landfill in Kenya’s capital harms the lives of around one million people, especially children.
Initially, the idea was to fill an old stone quarry. But, 35 years later, it has become one of the largest landfills in Africa and one of the most toxic in the world. It took about ten years to fill the hole left by the quarry. And since then, the Dandora landfill site, east of Nairobi, has continued to overflow and today covers an area of 30 hectares, just eight kilometers from the city center. On average, 2,000 tons of unsorted garbage arrive in Dandora each day, coming from hospitals, industries, or private households.
One might imagine that people avoid or flee this place. In reality, about one million people live in and around the landfill, making their livelihoods by scavenging through the trash they sift through every day. An informal economy based on recycling other people’s trash has emerged. The ‘Dumpers’, the name given to those working in the landfill (from the English word ‘dump’ – Kenya was once a British colony), collect plastic packaging, metal pieces, as well as household waste and business leftovers to feed pigs.
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