It’s going to take a while….
The authorities’ new policy is both a response to the UNEP report and to the increase in
current consumption. It will take some time to see the Kenyan government buy back
electronic devices as it plans to set up e-waste recycling plants in parallel between 2022
and 2023.
However, everything seems to have been planned. “The government will partner with
private companies through public-private partnerships (PPPs) to build a robust and
sustainable infrastructure to facilitate an environmentally responsible e-waste
management system and encourage consumers to dispose of their e-waste,” says the
government in its National E-waste Management Strategy 2019.
As part of the new government policy, each of Kenya’s 47 counties should have at least
10 e-waste collection centres. Investors will have to set up six e-waste sorting and
recycling plants in Kenya’s six main economic areas.
To accompany this policy, the government plans to create a national electronic waste
management fund. The financial institution would be expected to raise funds from
companies that contribute to the production of large quantities of electronic waste.
Smartphone and laptop manufacturers are therefore in the spotlight, in line with the
polluter-pays principle.
The Government of Kenya has just published its National Waste
Management Strategy 2019. It recommends the purchase of electronic
waste from the population. The objective of this policy is to prevent such
hazardous waste from continuing to occupy landfills and pollute the
environment.
Kenya wants to try a new approach to e-waste management. To do this, the
central government is now advocating the takeover of end-of-life electronic
devices. According to a 2010 United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
report, “Kenya produces 11,400 tons of electronic waste from refrigerators, 2,800
tons from TV sets, 2,500 tons from laptops, 500 tons from printers and 150 tons
from mobile phones”.
In total, Kenyans produce 17,000 tonnes of e-waste each year. According to this
international institution based in Nairobi, only 50% of this waste is recovered.
Half of them are found in landfills such as the one in Dandora, for waste
produced in the capital Nairobi. However, since the publication of these figures,
the situation has changed considerably. Smartphones and laptops have become
more accessible and widespread throughout the country.
According to the Jumia e-commerce platform’s Mobile Report 2019, 91% of
Kenyans now have a mobile phone and the population, very young, is
experiencing a frenetic desire to change smartphones to acquire new and even
more powerful gadgets.
TNO AND SIB COLLABORATE TOWARDS AN ACTION PLAN FOR CIRCULAR
E-WASTE MANAGEMENT
Against this background, TNO and SIB are developing an action plan, focused on large household appliances. This will
serve as a management tool in order to create new businesses, innovation and technological transfer, generate
quality employment and combat climate change in Kenya, while complying with its nationally determined
contributions (NDC) and sustainable development goals (SDGs), enabling Kenya to become a leader in the field of
circular economy. Part of this action plan will be an infrastructure gap analysis and identification of management and
infrastructure requirements to meet future e-waste capacities and enhance circularity.
The project is executed by an international team led by TNO and complemented by the Kenyan consultancy SIB, who
has a leading role in local data gathering and strategy development. The project is granted by CTCN (Climate and
Technology Center & Network), who’s core focus is to promote the transfer of technologies for low carbon and
climate resilient development at the request of developing countries. The team will work in close contact with the
NDE, the designated lead scientist responsible for the project on a national level.