Kenya lauded for efforts to improve plastic waste management deficiencies

A new study assessing the emerging Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) Framework in Kenya has been released.

The study dubbed ‘Extended Producer Responsibility for Single-Use Plastics and Packaging Waste Streams: An Assessment for Kenya’ by WWF-Kenya lauds Kenya’s current efforts to take EPR forward noting that the current approach if enacted has the potential to significantly improve Kenya’s waste management deficiencies.

Following the in-depth analysis of the country’s current waste management systems, the report identified challenges and gaps and proposed 13 recommendations on how to further advance the EPR system and help solve the plastics crisis in Kenya.

Key recommendations included the integration of Kenya’s informal sector into EPR, the definition of ambitious, realistic and measurable targets, the setup of an efficient and effective register, the encouragement of a collective EPR framework and a minimal EPR interface for producers.

“While EPR is not the single solution for all Kenya’s waste management challenges, it can be a strong and functional part of the wider puzzle. Any EPR scheme is a dynamic, constantly evolving system that regularly requires amendments in the legislative and regulatory framework. The 13 recommendations aim to guide stakeholders to find amicable, yet effective solutions to take mandatory EPR forward in Kenya,” reads the report in part.

Especially notable is the launch of public and private initiatives through the launch of the Kenya Extended Producer Responsibility Organization (KEPRO) and the PET Recycling Company (PETCO) to take over the role of the single Producer Responsibility Organization for non-hazardous packaging proposed under by the proposed EPR regulations.

The proposed EPR Regulations 2021 seek to shift the cost and responsibility of the end-of-life of products to the producers thus obligating them to include environmental considerations in their design and production processes including material selection.

These regulations will serve to buttress effort by the Kenyan government through the sustainable waste management regime envisaged under a Circular Economy Approach as provided for in the proposed Sustainable Waste Management Bill 2021, currently undergoing parliamentary processes before approval and enactment.

The report was released during a stakeholders’ meeting in Nairobi to chart a roadmap for the enactment of the EPR Regulations.

The meeting provided an opportunity for stakeholders to proactively and jointly identify and accelerate the low hanging fruits to pave the way for the smooth implementation of the proposed EPR Regulations (2021) upon enactment.

The Government of Kenya through the Ministry of Environment and Forestry and the Ministry of Trade and Industrialization has progressively led the transition to a circular economy by enacting supportive policy and legal frameworks, including the National Environment Policy 2013 and the Green Economy Strategy Implementation Plan (GESIP), with key highlights being the ban on single-use plastic carrier bags in 2017 and the ban on the use of single-use plastic products within protected areas and along the beaches in Kenya.