Efforts to improve waste management in Kenya continue to face challenges, including poor waste separation, inadequate recycling infrastructure and slow implementation of national waste policies by counties.
The Kenya Extended Producer Responsibility Organization (Kepro) said consumers were increasingly aware of the need to dispose of waste responsibly, but the lack of reliable systems for collecting and recycling separated waste was discouraging some from changing their habits.
KEPRO chief executive James Odongo noted that the findings from the organisation’s Rada Safi campaign had challenged the assumption that lack of awareness was the main reason for poor waste management.
“Consumers are aware, but they are now questioning the belief in the system. I can segregate my waste, but will it ultimately still end up in the same place?” Odongo said.
The campaign was aimed at encouraging responsible disposal, waste separation and greater public understanding of the value of recyclable materials. It used billboards, public transport branding, television, radio, digital platforms and public engagement.
He said Kenya had made progress in implementing Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), which requires producers and importers to take responsibility for the environmental impact of products and packaging they put on the market.
KEPRO estimates that the country has achieved between 75 and 80 per cent transition to EPR, although implementation and compliance remain a challenge.
Odongo confirmed that about 1,600 brands and producers were complying with the system, while compliance across Producer Responsibility Organizations had increased by more than 50 per cent over the past year.
However, Kenya Association of Waste Recyclers secretary general Richard Kainikia said recyclers still face major challenges in collecting and processing waste.
He identified inadequate infrastructure, poor waste separation at source, slow county implementation of the Sustainable Waste Management Act and non-recyclable packaging as some of the main obstacles.
“The other area that I would say that we have a problem is the area of infrastructure, where there is need for establishment of facilities like material recovery facilities across the country,” Kainikia said.
He said major urban counties such as Nairobi, Mombasa and Kisumu needed more Material Recovery Facilities to provide organised points for collecting and sorting waste.
Kainikia also urged households, offices, schools and other institutions to separate waste before disposal, with organic waste kept apart from recyclable materials such as paper, plastic and metal.
He said consumers also needed clear information on where recyclable waste should be taken and who was responsible for collecting it.
Some products and packaging, he added, were difficult to recycle and therefore ended up in landfills because they had little or no value to recyclers.
The issue of county involvement is also emerging as a key concern. While waste management is a devolved function, KEPRO said more counties needed to domesticate the Sustainable Waste Management Act and establish systems that support implementation of producer responsibility obligations.
KEPRO has partnered with all 47 counties, recovering about 90,000 metric tonnes of waste.
Odongo said improving waste management required coordinated action from consumers, government and industry rather than placing the responsibility on one group.
The focus is now on how to improve implementation of existing policies and increase investment in infrastructure needed to support recycling and a circular economy.
