Today, the Kenya Plastics Pact (KPP) joined the Kenya Extended Producer Responsibility Organisation (KEPRO)—a KPP Member—for a stakeholder sensitization forum in Nakuru County. This is part of KEPRO’s continuous sensitization drive on sustainable waste management and the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) across counties.
Speaking during the workshop in Nakuru, Mr. James Odongo, CEO of KEPRO, noted that “waste management is a shared responsibility, and consumers should be actively engaged in waste management initiatives with more focus on behavioral change and awareness initiatives.”
During a panel discussion, Mr. Denis Kiplagat, the Project Officer of Sustainable Inclusive Business Kenya – KPP’s Secretariat and the Knowledge Center under the Kenya Private Sector Alliance (KEPSA) – reiterated the importance of consumer behavior in driving sustainable waste management.
“The Kenya Plastics Pact is committed to fully supporting the implementation of the extended producer responsibility and assisting KPP Members and producers across the country to comply with section 13 of the National Sustainable Waste Management Act 2022 on the EPR,” he added.
KPP has been actively working with the National Environment and Management Authority (NEMA) and producer responsibility organizations (PROs) to raise awareness about EPR in the private sector and its role in strengthening Kenya’s incremental transition to a circular economy. With support from USAID under the Prosper Africa Initiative, KPP has also held stakeholder engagements in Nairobi and Mombasa in the past months and aims to reach other counties.
The Pact is also working with producers to implement the Design Guidelines for Recyclability in Kenya. The first version focuses on PET Bottles and HDPE Bottles and Jars. These design guidelines aim to provide clear recommendations to decision-makers on how to design plastic packaging to be compatible with current (and future projections of) mechanical recycling infrastructure, thus supporting the implementation of EPR.
