The government of Kenya has drafted a new law on sustainable waste management. Enacted by President Uhuru Kenyatta, the 2021 legislation provides for the establishment of a Waste Management Board, mandatory extended producer responsibility programmes, recovery of household waste and the closure of illegal landfills in all 47 counties of the East African country.
These provisions were inspired by the input of several environmental organisations such as the Kenyan branch of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), whose work led to the inclusion of circular economy principles in the new law.
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EPR mechanism
“The law puts in place measures across the waste value chain, including an extended producer responsibility (EPR) mechanism that will facilitate the ambition to eliminate plastic in nature. This will be achieved mainly through the mobilisation of all,” said Jackson Kiplagat, Head of Conservation Programmes at WWF-Kenya.
In March 2022, Kenya launched a plastics pact called the Kenya Plastics Pact (KPP). The initiative aims to find funding to support innovation, collection, reuse and recycling of plastic waste in Kenya. It brings together several actors in the waste value chain such as the Kenya PET Recycling Company (PETCO), the Nairobi Waste Collectors Association and the Kenya Organisation for Extended Producer Responsibility (KEPRO).
The new law, is expected to strengthen the waste management system in the country, which generates 480 tonnes of plastic per day, according to the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA).
