NUTEC PLASTICS: NUCLEAR TECHNOLOGY FOR CONTROLLING PLASTIC POLLUTION ROUND-TABLE FOR AFRICAN REGION

Dr. Oscar Koech from the University of Nairobi (UoN), Department of Land Resource Management and Agricultural Technology (LARMAT) participated in the NUTEC Plastics: Nuclear Technology for Controlling Plastic Pollution Roundtable for African Region, on Thursday, 2ndSeptember 2021. The meeting was organized by International Atomic Energy Agency IAEA),Division for Africa, Department of Technical Cooperation, Vienna, Austria. Prof. Shaukat Abdulrazak, the Director (IAEA), was the host for the African nation’s participants, represented by the country representative ministers and delegates. Kenya was represented by HE Mr. KeriakoTobiko, Cabinet Secretary, Ministry of Environment and Forestry, Kenya.

The round table discussion identified;

1. Need for concerted efforts in managing the menace of plastic waste across Africa.
2. Noted that the ecosystems and livelihoods production systems (both aquatic and terrestrial) are more affected by plastic waste disposal.
3. Plastics have affected livestock production systems, with significant losses reported due to health complications after ingestion on the Horn of Africa.
4. Contaminated water and grazing fields risk the lives of animals that are the main livelihood options to millions of pastoral communities.
5. Projections that show with the current trends, the oceans and other water bodies will have more plastic wastes than fish by 2050! This call for all actors to work together and apply technologies that could resolve and reduce the challenges posed within the ecosystems.