Households to Separate Waste in 3 Categories or Risk Fine & Imprisonment

The government is rolling out the Sustainable Waste Management Act which will require every household in Kenya to have at least three dustbins to recycle waste.

In the Act, the various bins will be used to separate waste at a bare minimum of dry waste, organic waste and hazardous waste. 

According to the Act, Kenyans who will not follow the regulations commit an offence and shall, on conviction, be liable to a fine not exceeding Ksh20,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or both.

Speaking during an interview at TV 47 today on Tuesday, James Odongo, Chief Administrative Officer at Kenya Extended Producer Responsibility Organisation (KEPRO) revealed that the Act had been necessitated by a change in the country’s economic model.

“We are trying to move away from a linear economy to a circular economy,” Odongo explained the economic shift that brought about the Sustainable Act.

“That can only be achieved through the realisation of a recycling economy as an intermediary.” 

The KEPRO boss explained that Kenya cannot have a recycling economy if waste is not recycled at source – households.

While many manufacturing companies are already implementing the Act, it is a challenge to access quality and quantity waste because the country does not have practises that encourage sustainable waste disposal. 

“It is now going to be mandatory for every household to segregate waste at a bare minimum of dry waste, organic waste and hazardous waste. This also extends to waste service providers,” the Act stipulates. 

According to the Act, Kenyans will dispose the collected waste to only licensed waste service providers or designated collection points. 

County governments have the sole mandate of developing, managing and maintaining designated disposal sites and landfills.

Additionally, the county governments shall maintain a register of all waste service providers operating within their boundaries.