Community Radio and Electronic Waste Management in Nairobi County’s Informal Urban Settlements

Abstract

There are over 38 informal settlements in Nairobi. Currently they are home to over half of the city's population, now estimated to be about 1.8 million. (Ngau 1995 in UN-Habitat 2001a) .These Informal settlements are faced by many challenges among other things, they lack proper waste management systems Electronic waste is often dumped in the informal communities where it accumulates through time and represents a major health hazard to the inhabitants. Community radio has been successful in alleviating these populations from the challenges that face them through various initiatives especially programming. A lot is known about Electronic waste management and the successes of community radio however little are known about community radio contribution (or lack of) in of Electronic waste management. Few studies have narrowed down to the challenges these community radios face in addressing electronic waste management and how this challenges can be addressed. The study was on 99.9 ghetto fm in Pumwani informal urban settlement. This research was conducted through case study design. Case study according to Hancock & Algozzine (2006) helps the researcher to understand the situation under investigation from the participants and not researchers perspective. The study concludes e-waste is an environmental challenge in the study area. The most common form of e-waste was phone parts followed by radio, television and air conditioners. E-waste is a challenge in the community since it contains hazardous contents which are harmful to one‘s health and the environment. 99.9 ghetto fm led the community to address these challenges by mentioning the issue in other programs and The radio; however, does not have a specific programs on Electronic waste management.. Based on the findings, the study recommends that community radio be helped to deal with electronic waste management effectively by more support for awareness by corporates and the government.