An impassable section of a road that is blocked by a heap of garbage at Muthurwa Market, Nairobi in this picture taken on March 2, 2025.
Billionaire garbage cartels in Nairobi may soon be out of business following the establishment of Green Nairobi Limited, a private garbage collection firm owned by the Nairobi City County Government.
The company, expected to begin operations in April, is equipped with its own fleet of trucks and compactors.
It will coordinate garbage collection services across the newly established borough units in the city.
Nairobi County Governor Johnson Sakaja.
It is also expected to introduce separate tariffs for waste collection and disposal across different estates in Nairobi. The company will have a board and a chief executive officer, who are expected to be appointed in the coming weeks.
Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja on Tuesday March 25, confirmed the establishment of the authority and said the entity, akin to Nairobi Water and Sewerage Company, will streamline garbage collection in the city.
“It is a standard across top cities in the world to have a waste collection authority. We have been facing challenges with the exchequer and there are many vested interests in garbage collection. We have already invested in trucks and compactors for the company, which will coordinate efforts and ensure a clean city,” Mr Sakaja told Nation.Africa.
According to the Registrar of Companies, the county government owns the largest shareholding in the company, with 4,850 shares.
The rest of the directors each hold 50 shares.
Listed directors include Maureen Njeri (County Minister for Green Nairobi), Charles Kerich (County Minister for Finance), Godfrey Akumali (County Secretary), Geoffrey Mosiria (Chief Officer, Environment), and Asha Abdi (Chief Officer, Finance).
Mr Sakaja dismissed critics questioning the motive behind the creation of the private company.
“It is in line with the County Governments Act, which allows counties to establish private entities. County officials are holding the shares in trust. It’s just like Nairobi Water, where the governor, county secretary, and county government are the officials,” said Mr Sakaja.
Refuse compactor trucks
The launch of the company follows Mr Sakaja's unveiling of 24 new refuse compactor trucks at City Hall in January, part of efforts to improve waste management across the city.
He said an additional 200 trucks are expected to boost garbage collection and disposal capacity.
The county has also deployed 3,500 Green Army members to enhance city cleaning.
The Nairobi County Government has long struggled to dispose of the tonnes of waste generated by residents.
Data from the Economic Survey 2024 shows that Nairobi generated 1,191,500 tonnes of garbage in 2023, up from 1,095,000 tonnes in 2022.
Of that, 1,025,200 tonnes were collected in 2023, compared to 813,500 tonnes the previous year.
In 2022, the city generated an average of 3,000 tonnes of solid waste daily, of which 2,200 tonnes were collected—meaning about 26 percent of the waste went uncollected each day.
A World Bank report shows that 20 percent of Nairobi’s waste is plastic, and only 45 percent is recycled, reused, or converted for economic use.
Households contribute the highest share of waste in the city at 54.2 percent, followed by markets (16.7 percent) and institutions (15 percent).
The main methods of solid waste disposal are landfilling (66.7 percent), composting (16.7 percent), and incineration (8.3 percent).
