Q&A: Cost remains a key barrier to EPR compliance in Kenya

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Kenya’s Sustainable Waste Management Act and the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) regulations are reshaping how businesses manage waste. But many companies are struggling with the cost of compliance, according to the CEO of the Kenya Extended Producer Responsibility Organisation (KEPRO), James Odongo.

• He notes that compliance is an expensive affair that has caught many businesses off guard, especially those that were not previously involved in any structured waste management efforts.

• In an interview, Mr Odongo  explains how KEPRO is supporting businesses to comply with Kenya’s EPR regulations while at the same time balancing the interests of the various players in the country’s circular economy.

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This interview was first published by Marcopolis

Of the various environmental regulations in Kenya, which specific clause has posed the greatest implementation challenge for companies?

James Odongo: After the ban on single-use plastic carrier bags, there was a very purposeful discussion to ensure that there would be predictability of the regulatory landscape in Kenya. That is where the framework to transition Kenya towards a circular economy was identified. Effective 2022, Kenya has the Sustainable Waste Management Act, from which the respective regulations, including the Plastics Regulation of 2024, stem. This is also tied to the Extended Producer Responsibility Regulation that came into effect in 2024.

With respect to the most challenging aspect of compliance, especially for businesses that were initially doing it on a voluntary basis and those that had not shown any sort of commitment, the major challenge has been the cost. Compliance comes at a cost. For the Extended Producer Responsibility framework, businesses are contributing certain amounts of funds to us as an organisation to help them fulfil the mandates and obligations set out in the regulations.

Given the cost pressures, how is KEPRO supporting businesses to navigate compliance with the EPR framework and other new waste regulations?

James Odongo: As an organisation, we are helping businesses by imparting them with the knowledge and capacity to be better equipped and aware of the fact that the regulations are intended to future-proof their businesses and ensure they take responsibility for the environmental consequences of their products. Further, because we are a member-based organisation, businesses can leverage the economies of scale. This means their cost of compliance is fairly low compared to if they were doing it on an individual basis.

How is KEPRO addressing the disconnect between product design and recyclability to ensure both manufacturers and recyclers are working toward circular goals?

James Odongo: One of the biggest challenges recyclers have faced is the difficult nature of some forms of packaging products when it comes to recycling. Especially for multi-layered forms of packaging, this becomes a painstaking process for recyclers to undertake. This has necessitated very deliberate action in conversations between recyclers and manufacturers to ensure that product design and packaging at the ideation stage take into account the need for end-of-life management, either through recycling or other processes.

As an example, this has been demonstrated by a company that is not necessarily our member. As you may have noticed, the Sprite bottle was initially green, but there is an increasing preference for clear plastic bottles. This is to ensure that there is an affinity for recycling among waste management operators in the country. The initial green bottle did not have adequate value for the waste management operators and did not make a business case for recyclers.

What is the one message you want every Kenyan consumer to hear and act on before the end of 2025 to help build a cleaner, more sustainable waste system?”

James Odongo: The message for us has always been, and it is almost more of a clarion call, that my waste is my responsibility. The responsibility for a clean and healthy environment starts with you and me. This begins with the most basic forms of practice. The first is putting your waste in a bin, and the second step is ensuring that you are putting it in the right bin. By doing so, you are supporting a recycling ecosystem. As long as waste is mixed, there is no business case or incentive for a recycler to handle that waste. That is why we see landfills and illegal dumpsites, because there is no incentive for waste management operators to collect mixed waste.

So, my waste is my responsibility. It is a clarion call and a call to action that I hope different audiences, every Kenyan, and every citizen in the country will act upon — to ensure they are properly disposing of their waste, putting it in the right bin, and becoming ambassadors of change to inspire behaviour change among other consumers and citizens who may not have this information.