Official data show that about 30 trucks of waste plastic packaging, bags and containers are tipped on to Dandora dump daily, a trend set to worsen with global plastic pollution forecast to double over the next decade.
This global waste crisis, which is destroying habitats, killing wildlife and contaminating the food chain, has sparked calls for radical action in a treaty billed as the most important environmental pact since the Paris Agreement.
Hibrahim Otieno, a local environmental official at the dumpsite said that they expect countries to commit to stop the production of such plastics, when the treaty is signed.
More people said they want single-use plastics banned as soon as possible in a study released this month ahead of the accord discussions.
But how the treaty will tackle single-use plastic production and use is set to be one of the thorniest issues in the talks, according to officials involved, as well as what elements of it will be legally binding and how it will be financed.
Behind the scenes, powerful oil and chemical companies manufacturing plastics have been urging governments to reject provisions that could curb their business.
Industry executives and environmental pressure groups have been in Nairobi since last week observing hours of technical-level discussions on the pact and meeting officials on the sidelines to press their case on key issues.
Political representatives arriving on Monday must now approve the framework drafted by their technical experts and launch an intergovernmental negotiating committee (INC) to broker a final deal.
Those negotiations are expected to take at least another two years to complete, but the framework agreed in Nairobi is seen as crucial in ultimately determining the treaty’s success.
Christina Dixon of the Environmental Investigation Agency, one of the campaigners participating in the talks said “If we don’t get the right formulation, the INC will be shackled and limited in what elements they can consider.”
