Lamu holds plastic waste exhibition

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Governor Fahim Twaha views some of the items made from plastic waste. PHOTO: NATASHA NEMA.

Lamu, KENYA: Lamu county has launched and held its first plastic waste exhibition at the Lamu Fort,a month after the nationwide plastic ban took effect.

The exhibition dubbed ‘Takataka Exhibition’ was meant to showcase the amount of plastic waste collected by volunteers from beaches across Lamu.

The event was led by Lamu governor Fahim Twaha and other county leaders.

The Takataka exhibition is meant to reinforce the plastic ban and showcase how huge amounts of plastic waste negatively impact various sectors in life.

The event which is under the stewardship of the Lamu museums involved the youth and tourists who came together to display the various amounts of plastic waste collected in various beaches across the county.

Some of the waste collected. PHOTO: NATASHA NEMA

The move is also aimed at ensuring cleanness of the marine environment and also of the Lamu old town which is a UNESCO world heritage site.

Speaking then,governor Twaha lauded the initiative to collect plastic waste from the Indian Ocean and other places and urged all residents to adapt the same.

Twaha said there was need for every person to honor the plastic ban and cautioned against careless disposal of waste.

Twaha also pledged to permanently employ all those who had volunteered to clean the town and rid it of all manner of plastic waste.

“This is such a great initiative.we encourage the rest of Lamu residents to copy the same,that way,we will have safer environments to live in.I want to pledge that we shall employ all those volunteers who have been doing this so that they can continue to keep our beaches clean,”said Twaha.

Hassan Obbo who pioneered the initiave 18 years ago said he has been collecting dirt from beaches across Lamu daily free of charge.

He said it is gratifying for him since his major objective is to keep the beaches clean and beautiful to attract more tourists.

Obbo feels majority of the beaches are in bad shape due to the pile up of waste especially plastic and that as such tourists never want to go near such.

He urged the youth to help in the conservation of the same.

“I began doing this 18 years ago when I was still a young man and am still doing.I clean the beaches I can on a daily basis and I do it for free.It comes from the heard because my desire is to see the Lamu beaches clean enough to warrant a tourist to come back again and again.There is still more that can’t be done by just one person and I call upon all to clean up Lamu beaches,”said Obbo.

The event also saw school children who had undergone brief training on environmental conservation receive awards and certificates.

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