Greetings, I am Nil Karul, the founder of Reppatch, a community of nature warriors. I have written many articles in the Reppatch Academy before, but I have never started any of my previous articles like this. In this article where I will talk about Dandora, I wanted to make an introduction like this because I will express my thoughts and feelings more than I normally do. The wonderful woman I came across on Instagram yesterday, Chemitei Janet, a nature warrior from Kenya, made me write this article and research the subject more deeply.
Introduction to Dandora: The Importance of Kenya
Before we start explaining our concepts, I would like to talk about the beauty of Kenya and its importance as a location in the world. Located in the east of Africa and bordering the Indian Ocean, Kenya is a paradise for nature lovers with its vast savannas, mountains, lakes and world-famous wildlife reserves. The country makes significant contributions to biodiversity by hosting lions, leopards, elephants and many endangered creatures in its huge natural areas such as the Serengeti. These natural treasures play an important role in the ecological balance, making Kenya a center of attraction for tourism and the economy. At the same time, the deep-rooted cultural heritage and traditions of the local communities enrich the country’s multifaceted identity. With these characteristics, Kenya is an ideal example to understand how issues such as environmental protection, sustainable development and cultural heritage are addressed on a global scale.
Let’s Learn the Terms: Landfill
A landfill is defined as an area where solid waste is regularly collected and stored in a controlled manner. The waste is covered with soil in layers, minimizing odor, pest and fire risks. The basic structure of landfills includes an impermeable layer made of clay or synthetic materials to prevent leachate from mixing with the soil. Leakage water formed by the decay of organic waste can contain various toxins and poses a great risk of polluting underground water resources. This leachate is collected, purified and disposed of without harming nature.
In addition, greenhouse gases such as methane are released with the decay of organic substances. Since these gases can harm the environment, they can be collected and used in energy production. However, in some landfills, these gases are directly released into the atmosphere, which accelerates climate change. Although alternative methods such as recycling and composting are encouraged to reduce the environmental impacts of landfills, they are areas that exist and pose a problem in today’s world order.
The Unavoidable Truth of the Textile Sector: Waste
Now that we have learned our important concepts, we can start talking about the main topic. The types of waste that are thrown into landfills and that we are talking about vary, but there is a waste problem created by the textile sector specifically in Dandora. The textile sector produces approximately 114 million tons of waste per year worldwide. When we talk about numbers as weight, it may not come to our minds or eyes very well. That’s why I asked my dear friend Chat GPT and I am here with a good example. 114 million tons is equivalent to 285,000 airplanes. So how many airports do we need to put these airplanes? If we consider an average-sized airport, we need 1267 airports. Let me remind you, these figures are only the mass measurement of 1-year textile waste. Of course, there is a recycling, reuse and upcycling cycle. Unfortunately, the rate of this cycle is only 12% of 114 million tons of waste, that is; enough textile waste to cover 100 airports is recycled every year.
So what happened to the remaining textile waste that was enough to cover 1167 airports?
I am sorry to say that but all of them sending to landfills. Can you believe that a continent full of natural beauty like Africa hosts 876 landfills? It is so sad and pitiful that humanity abandons its waste to nature…
Let’s Get to the Topic: Dandora
I mentioned the wonderful woman Chemitei Janet at the beginning of my article. I would like to introduce her a little more. Chemitei Janet is an environmental activist who has been interested in the world of fashion since a young age and combines this passion with sustainability. After watching the movie True Cost in 2017, Chemitei became more conscious and took action about sustainable fashion and started to spread environmental awareness by being selected as Miss Environment in a local beauty contest. She volunteers for environmental organizations such as Greenpeace and GLFx Nairobi, and also uses her love of knitting in upcycling projects. Chemitei also shares Dandora’s landfills on social media and beautifully describes the textile waste problem in Dandora.
While researching what I saw from Chemitei on social media yesterday, I watched the short film Textile Mountain, made in 2020 about Dandora. The film also includes very nice interviews with the local people and workers of the region. Here are a few images from the film:
Dandora is one of the largest settlements in Nairobi. It is notable for its environmental and health problems. Built in 1977, this area is home to the Dandora Landfill, the city’s main landfill. This landfill has serious negative effects on the health of the people in the area, causing health problems such as skin diseases and air pollution caused by toxic waste. The waste in the dump is made even more harmful by being burned overnight, which causes respiratory difficulties. In addition, people living here rummage through the garbage to find a source of income, but this increases the risk of food insecurity and consuming contaminated food. In this area where crime rates are high, children also have limited access to education, which deepens social and economic inequalities.
In other words, the landfill we are talking about, the waste problem, while saying how many airports are equivalent to planes, affects children’s education. As you can see in the photos, people work in the area and this waste is not directly dumped here. There is a process. First, the waste enters the country with ships under the name of second-hand clothing. Then, the products in good condition for the sale of second-hand clothing, or “mitumba” as they call it, are separated, cleaned and offered for sale in public markets. However, this rate is equivalent to a range of 20% of these products that come under the name of second-hand clothing.
As a result, almost all of the waste exported to the country under the name of second-hand textile poses a great risk to nature and humanity. No matter how much I want to express my feelings and emotions about this issue, my focus is different. Knowing that there are people like Chemitei in the world makes me very happy. Because there is hope. What hope? Hope for change, goodness and impact. It is our greatest right as humans to get angry, sad and shout at every news we hear or new information we learn. But what can we do? We are responsible for our own sphere of influence. In this film, it also talks about a community that cleans the rivers in Dandora. Look, their sphere of influence is clear and they are focused on this. I am grateful to them on behalf of humanity and nature. What is our sphere of influence? If you watch the film, there are some brands that you will see and know very well. Shopping from these brands, not resisting our passion for consumption, not reducing it, not learning and not teaching, is a great shame on behalf of humanity and nature. Because these are in our hands, these are our sphere of influence.
Get to Know Dandora, But Focus on Your Sphere of Influence
When I talk about Dandora and the landfills around the world, my heart aches. The anger and sadness I feel for both nature and humanity is truly overwhelming. But we shouldn’t just stop there, we shouldn’t just react emotionally, there should be something we can do because there always is… People like Chemitei Janet have the power to create change in this world, and we are one of them. They don’t just get angry, they are trying to make a real difference, and we can do it too. Like them, we can first focus on our sphere of influence and then grow our sphere of influence.
We all cause something with our daily choices, and it is in our hands to change these choices. Every piece we buy, every product we consume, every step we take can be the spark of a bigger transformation. It is really easy to think, “What can such a small change change?” But we should not forget that big changes start with small, determined steps.
For me, this article is not only a call to awareness; it is also a reminder of responsibility. Respecting the world goes far beyond the power of a single person. But together, with unity and small steps, we can make a big difference. We are responsible for our sphere of influence. And that influence is in the hands of all of us.
