In Summary
- They want the county government to provide protective gear.
- Over 1000 have been listed as petitioners
- They claim the County is liable to environmental compensation for improper management of the dump site.
Five garbage collectors have filed a case against the Nairobi County Government over the Dandora Dumpsite. They sustain cuts from glass which are painful and come with catastrophic health consequences.
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The claim
The five petitioners have filed the case on behalf of over 1,000 waste packers.
They claim that the county is tasked with the responsibility of remediating and managing municipal solid waste at the Dandora dumpsite.
When the county fails, then it is liable to environmental compensation for improper management which they claim is a serious violation of the rights of citizens.
The Injuries
They say that they sustain cuts from glass which though painful comes with catastrophic effects are such that they have to live with the consequences.
The waste collectors at the Dandora site in the court papers argue that they have no personal protective equipment which exposes them to toxins such as lead and mercury.
“As a result of being exposed to toxins from burning plastic some of the common ailments have been established amongst them,” reads court papers.
It is their argument that the consequences of the pollution are irreversible and risky. The health life effects are adverse, yet the county has ignored them.
They are now blaming the county for not putting up a framework to ensure their work environment is sound.
They now want the court to order Nairobi County to secure funds in order to implement a permanent rehabilitation and restore the Dandora dump site.
They are also seeking to be compensated general damages.
