State to Relocate Dandora Dumpsite to Ruai in Planned Nairobi Waste Overhaul

President William Ruto has announced a formal plan to decommission the Dandora dumpsite and transition Nairobi’s waste management to a new treatment facility in Ruai. The announcement, made during a church service in Pipeline, Embakasi, on February 8, indicates that the national government will partner with the Nairobi City County government to finance the relocation and modernization of the city's refuse systems.

The decades-old Dandora site has exceeded its designed capacity for years, posing documented health and environmental risks to residents in eastern Nairobi. Under the new directive, waste removal from Dandora will be conducted in phases to ensure the transition does not disrupt the city’s daily sanitation requirements. Ruto confirmed that land for the new operations has already been secured in Ruai, approximately 20 kilometers from the current site.

Construction of a modern waste treatment plant is central to the project. The facility is designed to move the capital away from open dumping toward a circular economy model. Once operational, the plant will process municipal solid waste into value-added products, specifically organic fertilizer and renewable energy. Current plans project that the treatment facility will be completed and ready for full operations by 2027.

To bridge the gap during construction, the President noted that a structured garbage collection program will commence on April 1, 2026. This initiative will target estates and urban centers across the county to improve primary collection and city cleanliness while the Ruai infrastructure is being finalized.

The project follows a series of multi-billion shilling environmental interventions in the capital, including the Nairobi Rivers Regeneration Project. The Dandora dumpsite, located adjacent to the Nairobi River, has long been identified as a primary source of industrial and domestic leaching into the water system. Its decommissioning is viewed by urban planners as a technical necessity for the broader Sh50 billion river cleanup effort.

Financial and logistical contracts for the Ruai facility have already been awarded. The national government has committed to providing the necessary funding to complement Nairobi County’s resources, including the support of the Nairobi Green Army. The integration of informal waste pickers into the new formal waste-to-energy and recycling roles remains a component of the long-term operational strategy for the Ruai site.