Kenya is banking on the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) to address the growing e-waste challenge as the May registration deadline for producers approaches.
EPR is anchored within the Sustainable Waste Management Act 2022, which came into force in July 2022, with section 13 of the Act stipulating that EPR is a mandatory requirement for everyone introducing a product into the Kenya market.
The regulation places responsibility on producers for the entire lifecycle of their products, including waste management.
Kenya faces a growing e-waste (electronic waste) problem with the country becoming a dumping ground for electronic items like cheap mobile phones, electric and electronic products, cables and used toys among other consumer items.
The country struggles with more than 5,100 metric tonnes of e-waste every year, according to the government.
Speaking at the East African Communications Organisation (EACO) regional forum on sustainable e-waste management, in Nairobi, National Environment Management Authority enforcement director Ayub Macharia said the new regulations will shift waste management from county governments to producers, making it easy to track, trace and recycle e-waste.
Importers will also be required to pay $1 (Sh129 ) per item imported into the country payable to NEMA for end of life management, including research, recycling and disposal.
“Producers will have to declare volumes of products introduced in the market and plans on how they will handle them when their use ends, including recycling,” Macharia said during the forum hosted by Kenya’s Communications Authority.
This comes amid a regional push to enforce laws that will enable a collective approach by the East African Community to address the e-waste challenge, where countries are making key investments.
According to EACO, Rwanda, Tanzania and Kenya have enacted e-waste regulations and EPR frameworks, while Uganda and Burundi have adopted national e-waste policies. However, there are still gaps in enforcement.
“We need to harmonise policies and legal frameworks for cross-border collaboration,” EACO executive secretary Ally Simba said.
CA director general David Mugonyi
noted that the surge in the importation
of counterfeit and low-quality electronic products and end-user devices,
which have a shorter lifespan and generate large amounts of e-waste, have
aggravated the situation and endanger
the entire value chain.
