By Arnold Ageta
To celebrate World Environment Day 2025, the Nyamira County Government has planned numerous cleaning activities in collaboration with learning institutions and county staff.
The day, observed on June 5th, will this year sensitize the public on how plastic pollution permeates every corner of the planet, even in our bodies in the form of microplastics. The celebration this year calls for collective action to tackle plastic pollution.
This year’s World Environment Day comes exactly two months before countries meet again to continue negotiating a global treaty to end plastic pollution.
Themed ‘Beat Plastic Pollution,’ the global campaign aims to raise awareness about plastic’s harmful impacts and promote sustainable alternatives. This is why the Nyamira County Government has planned to clean markets and get rid of plastics that are dumped there, aiming to make the environment conducive.
According to the Chief Executive Member (CECM) for Environment, Water, Energy, and Natural Resources, the day will be used to clean all markets in the county.
“Tomorrow, we want to sensitize people against the use of plastics, especially plastic bags that were banned in the country but are still in use in our markets,” he said.
He confirmed that the governor will, in the morning, launch the cleaning campaign in Nyamira before the day’s activities begin.
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“I therefore urge members of the public and market users to spare one hour to join us clean the markets before opening their businesses,” he rallied them.
The CECM, however, added that for those having their market day tomorrow, they will clean as they continue conducting their businesses to avoid distracting and disturbing them.
The cleaning is scheduled to start at 8 AM, before they begin their daily income-generating activities in various markets.
“Our aim is to clean the markets, open blocked drainages, and collect litter and later dispose of it,” he said.
He further asked people to keep their homes clean through proper waste disposal instead of throwing household waste along the roads and behind buildings, which makes the environment dirty and dangerous for the public and road users.
“Business owners also need to keep their places of work clean and neat because litter often originates from the goods they sell at the market,” Matiang’i urged them.
Dr. Matiang’i said that the county is in the process of constructing dumping houses in all urban centers to help in sorting waste for proper disposal and recycling.
“Previously, we had dumping containers where all types of waste were dumped, but they have been vandalized and sold to scrap metal dealers, posing a big challenge for the department in keeping the town clean,” he regretted.
Once the waste disposal management program is ready, Matiang’i said waste will be sorted for recycling, production of organic manure, and other goods that can be produced using waste.
As the world observes the day, he called on each individual to keep their environment clean and be responsible in waste disposal.
World Environment Day, an initiative led by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), will be hosted by the Republic of Korea with a strong focus on one of the most pressing challenges of our time: plastic pollution.
