Entrenching Waste Hierarchy for Sustainable Municipal Solid Waste Management in Kenya

Abstract

Prioritizing waste prevention, reuse, recycling and recovery of materials
and energy over disposal through landfilling, offers the waste hierarchy
approach (WHA) a sustainable pathway to the management of municipal
solid wastes (MSW) and realization of a circular economy. The concept
is now part of the legal framework in some developing countries and its
implementation has been credited for addressing waste problems linked
to high rates of economic growth and urbanization. Even though Africa
Vision 2063 prioritizes improvements in urban waste recycling in the
continent, much of the MSW generated on the continent is disposed
through landfilling evidencing weak adoption of the WHA. This article
contends that because WHA is not adequately incorporated in the
current legal framework at national and sub-national levels of
government, Kenya is unlikely to achieve a circular economy approach
necessary for realizing sustainable waste management.
Operationalization of the WHA is impeded by inadequate financing,
weak institutional coordination, gaps in private sector and informal
actors’ engagement and risks associated with investments in large-scale
waste recovery initiatives. It is therefore necessary for Kenya to
elaborate the WHA in its legal framework at both national and county
level, while ensuring adequate financing, involvement of informal actors,
incentivization of private sector and adoption of waste planning
procedures.