One of the Kenyan government visions is to transform Nairobi City into a metropolis by 2030 and this will not only come with improved road infrastructure but also an increase in vehicle ownership rate. Vehicles are essential to society and are continually increasing in use. In Kenya, road transport accounts for 93% of passenger and freight mobility with over 1.3 million registered vehicles. Over 780,000 vehicles (approximately 60%) operate in Nairobi. The vehicles often come to the end of their useful lives and stockpiles of unclaimed vehicles are a common sight in police stations’ yards in Kenya. Although, unclaimed end of life vehicles have the potential to pollute the environment they are also recyclable resources. To understand this waste management problem which is one of the challenges to development in Kenya and Africa, this study investigated the magnitude (nature and extent) and environmental impacts of unclaimed vehicles in police stations’ yards in Kenya. Standardized questionnaires and focused group interviews were used to collect data on number of unclaimed vehicles, vehicle type, category and potential environmental impacts. The preliminary results of the research show that passenger cars and matatus were predominant types at 42% and 24%, respectively. 86% were non-operational vehicles while 14% were operational vehicles impounded due to traffic rules infringement. The potential environmental impacts included contamination of land and water supplies by leaking fluids e.g. engine oil, possible injuries due to rusting broken vehicle parts, potential health hazard risks to children living within the police stations, breeding places for rodents, mosquitoes and other pathogens. The vehicles also cause obstruction (visual pollution).The conclusion can be drawn that unclaimed vehicles’ problem requires immediate decisions and actions in order to curb it or else it will get worse as motorization and population increases rapidly. Following statistical analysis of the results, some recommendations will also be presented.
| Published in | American Journal of Environmental Protection (Volume 3, Issue 2) |
| DOI | 10.11648/j.ajep.20140302.12 |
| Page(s) | 51-58 |
| Creative Commons |
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited. |
| Copyright |
Copyright © The Author(s), 2014. Published by Science Publishing Group |
Freight Mobility, Impact, Unclaimed Vehicles, Waste Management
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APA Style
Joseph Kinyanjui Muiruri. (2014). The Magnitude of Unclaimed End of Life Vehicles and Environmental Implications in Police Stations’ Yards: A Case Study of Nairobi, Kenya. American Journal of Environmental Protection, 3(2), 51-58. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajep.20140302.12
ACS Style
Joseph Kinyanjui Muiruri. The Magnitude of Unclaimed End of Life Vehicles and Environmental Implications in Police Stations’ Yards: A Case Study of Nairobi, Kenya. Am. J. Environ. Prot. 2014, 3(2), 51-58. doi: 10.11648/j.ajep.20140302.12
AMA Style
Joseph Kinyanjui Muiruri. The Magnitude of Unclaimed End of Life Vehicles and Environmental Implications in Police Stations’ Yards: A Case Study of Nairobi, Kenya. Am J Environ Prot. 2014;3(2):51-58. doi: 10.11648/j.ajep.20140302.12
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Download@article{10.11648/j.ajep.20140302.12,
author = {Joseph Kinyanjui Muiruri},
title = {The Magnitude of Unclaimed End of Life Vehicles and Environmental Implications in Police Stations’ Yards: A Case Study of Nairobi, Kenya},
journal = {American Journal of Environmental Protection},
volume = {3},
number = {2},
pages = {51-58},
doi = {10.11648/j.ajep.20140302.12},
url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajep.20140302.12},
eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajep.20140302.12},
abstract = {One of the Kenyan government visions is to transform Nairobi City into a metropolis by 2030 and this will not only come with improved road infrastructure but also an increase in vehicle ownership rate. Vehicles are essential to society and are continually increasing in use. In Kenya, road transport accounts for 93% of passenger and freight mobility with over 1.3 million registered vehicles. Over 780,000 vehicles (approximately 60%) operate in Nairobi. The vehicles often come to the end of their useful lives and stockpiles of unclaimed vehicles are a common sight in police stations’ yards in Kenya. Although, unclaimed end of life vehicles have the potential to pollute the environment they are also recyclable resources. To understand this waste management problem which is one of the challenges to development in Kenya and Africa, this study investigated the magnitude (nature and extent) and environmental impacts of unclaimed vehicles in police stations’ yards in Kenya. Standardized questionnaires and focused group interviews were used to collect data on number of unclaimed vehicles, vehicle type, category and potential environmental impacts. The preliminary results of the research show that passenger cars and matatus were predominant types at 42% and 24%, respectively. 86% were non-operational vehicles while 14% were operational vehicles impounded due to traffic rules infringement. The potential environmental impacts included contamination of land and water supplies by leaking fluids e.g. engine oil, possible injuries due to rusting broken vehicle parts, potential health hazard risks to children living within the police stations, breeding places for rodents, mosquitoes and other pathogens. The vehicles also cause obstruction (visual pollution).The conclusion can be drawn that unclaimed vehicles’ problem requires immediate decisions and actions in order to curb it or else it will get worse as motorization and population increases rapidly. Following statistical analysis of the results, some recommendations will also be presented.},
year = {2014}
}
TY - JOUR T1 - The Magnitude of Unclaimed End of Life Vehicles and Environmental Implications in Police Stations’ Yards: A Case Study of Nairobi, Kenya AU - Joseph Kinyanjui Muiruri Y1 - 2014/03/30 PY - 2014 N1 - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajep.20140302.12 DO - 10.11648/j.ajep.20140302.12 T2 - American Journal of Environmental Protection JF - American Journal of Environmental Protection JO - American Journal of Environmental Protection SP - 51 EP - 58 PB - Science Publishing Group SN - 2328-5699 UR - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajep.20140302.12 AB - One of the Kenyan government visions is to transform Nairobi City into a metropolis by 2030 and this will not only come with improved road infrastructure but also an increase in vehicle ownership rate. Vehicles are essential to society and are continually increasing in use. In Kenya, road transport accounts for 93% of passenger and freight mobility with over 1.3 million registered vehicles. Over 780,000 vehicles (approximately 60%) operate in Nairobi. The vehicles often come to the end of their useful lives and stockpiles of unclaimed vehicles are a common sight in police stations’ yards in Kenya. Although, unclaimed end of life vehicles have the potential to pollute the environment they are also recyclable resources. To understand this waste management problem which is one of the challenges to development in Kenya and Africa, this study investigated the magnitude (nature and extent) and environmental impacts of unclaimed vehicles in police stations’ yards in Kenya. Standardized questionnaires and focused group interviews were used to collect data on number of unclaimed vehicles, vehicle type, category and potential environmental impacts. The preliminary results of the research show that passenger cars and matatus were predominant types at 42% and 24%, respectively. 86% were non-operational vehicles while 14% were operational vehicles impounded due to traffic rules infringement. The potential environmental impacts included contamination of land and water supplies by leaking fluids e.g. engine oil, possible injuries due to rusting broken vehicle parts, potential health hazard risks to children living within the police stations, breeding places for rodents, mosquitoes and other pathogens. The vehicles also cause obstruction (visual pollution).The conclusion can be drawn that unclaimed vehicles’ problem requires immediate decisions and actions in order to curb it or else it will get worse as motorization and population increases rapidly. Following statistical analysis of the results, some recommendations will also be presented. VL - 3 IS - 2 ER -
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