When experts, policymakers, and private sector leaders gathered for Kenya’s first-ever Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Innovation Summit, the message was unmissable: electronic waste is no longer a background issue. It is a defining challenge for a country where technology adoption is booming but systems for handling obsolete gadgets are lagging dangerously behind.
The summit framed e-waste as more than just an environmental problem. It is a health risk, an economic opportunity, and a governance test, one that will determine whether Kenya can leap into a sustainable future or drown in a tide of discarded electronics.
The Numbers That Cannot Be Ignored
Kenya generates an estimated 53,000 metric tons of electronic waste every year. This includes broken phones, outdated laptops, dead refrigerators, and televisions. Yet, according to the Global E-Waste Monitor, only a small fraction of this mountain is properly recycled.
The rest is dumped in open landfills, rivers, or dismantled informally using unsafe methods. The consequences are grave:
- Health risks from toxic chemicals such as lead, mercury, and cadmium, which contaminate soil and water.
- Environmental damage from burning wires and plastics to extract metals, releasing carcinogenic fumes.
- Economic waste, as valuable materials like copper, aluminum, and even gold are lost instead of re-entering production chains.
The drivers of this crisis are clear. Kenya’s population stands at about 55 million people, most of them young and digitally savvy. Mobile penetration is above 120%, meaning many individuals own more than one device. Each year, Kenyans buy an estimated 4–5 million new phones, alongside a rising demand for laptops, household appliances, and entertainment electronics.
This appetite for technology fuels innovation and growth, but it also generates waste at an unprecedented scale.
The Old Model: Buy, Use, Dump
For decades, the electronics industry has operated under a linear product cycle. Manufacturers designed, produced, and sold devices. Consumers bought and used them. Once they failed, the devices were discarded, often with no system for recovery.
When manufacturers like Samsung, Sony, or Nokia first flooded global markets with phones and televisions, the afterlife of those products was not part of the business model. Disposal was left to municipalities or consumers themselves. In Kenya, this meant a growing informal sector of scrap dealers, repairers, and second-hand sellers stepped in to fill the gap.
That model is now collapsing under the weight of its own waste.
The New Model: Extended Producer Responsibility
Kenya’s Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) regulations mark a turning point. Under this policy, manufacturers and importers are made directly responsible for the waste generated by their products. As the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) explains it:
“Anybody who introduces a product in the market must take care of it until its end of life.” Dr. Ayub Macharia, Director Nema
This is more than regulatory jargon. It flips the business model. No longer can a company’s responsibility end at the point of sale. Instead, the entire life cycle of a gadget from production to disposal becomes part of the company’s obligation.
Countries like Germany have already shown what this can achieve: stronger circular economies, job creation in recycling industries, and safer handling of hazardous waste. Kenya, too, can follow this path if it bridges the policy-practice gap.
The Governance Factor: Devolution
But regulation alone is not enough. Under Kenya’s 2010 Constitution, waste management is a devolved function. The Fourth Schedule, Part 2, places “refuse removal, refuse dumps, and solid waste disposal” squarely under county governments.
This creates a dual system. NEMA and the national government set the rules and issue licenses, but counties are the ones who must execute collection, disposal, and community-level enforcement. Without proper alignment, gaps open up. Counties lack funding, infrastructure, or technical capacity to handle complex waste like electronics, leaving most of the burden to the informal sector.
At the summit, experts stressed that county governments must be equipped with resources and training to integrate e-waste management into daily waste systems. Otherwise, EPR laws risk staying on paper while toxic waste piles up in practice.
The Informal Sector: An Overlooked Powerhouse
In reality, Kenya’s informal sector collects more e-waste than the formal sector. From Nairobi’s Gikomba market to Kisumu’s repair shops, second-hand dealers and street technicians play a central role in extending the life of gadgets.
They repair phones, strip wires, and resell spare parts. But without protective gear, training, or certification, much of their work is unsafe. Burning plastic to access copper wires exposes them to cancer-causing fumes. Children often assist in dismantling gadgets, exposing themselves to heavy metals.
Formalizing this sector is critical. With the right training and partnerships, informal collectors could become the backbone of a safer, job-creating e-waste economy.
Beyond Recycling: The Seven Layers of Circularity
A key insight from the summit was that recycling is not the whole story. In fact, it should be the last resort, not the first. A truly circular economy involves multiple layers of intervention:
1. Refuse – Avoid unnecessary electronics; push manufacturers to design fewer disposable gadgets.
2. Reduce – Create products that use fewer raw materials and last longer.
3. Reuse – Pass gadgets on to second-hand users (a thriving market in Kenya).
4. Repair / Refurbish – Extend the lifespan of devices through repair shops and refurbishment programs.
5. Repurpose – Adapt old devices for new functions, such as using an old phone as a home CCTV.
6. Recycle – Extract valuable metals and plastics from dead devices.
7. Recover – Safely dispose of what cannot be reused or recycled, sometimes with energy recovery.
This hierarchy recognizes that the best waste is the one never produced, and the next best is the one given a second life.
A Consumer’s Journey in the New Economy
To understand this model, picture yourself walking into a Nairobi shop to buy a new smartphone.
Old Model: You use it for a few years, it dies, and you toss it into a drawer or dump it at a landfill. End of story.
New Model (EPR): You use the phone, then return it to a collection point once it no longer works. From there, it enters the circular system:
Sorted and dismantled,
Repaired or refurbished if possible,
Repurposed for new uses, or
Recycled to recover valuable materials.
What once was a “dead phone” becomes copper for new wires, plastic for new casings, or even a refurbished device for another consumer. Nothing truly goes to waste.
This loop generates jobs at every stage from collection and repair to advanced recycling while reducing pollution and health risks.
Kenya’s Fork in the Road
Kenya now faces a choice. With 55 million people, millions of devices sold annually, and over 53,000 tons of e-waste generated every year, the stakes are immense.
Handled poorly, e-waste could become a toxic legacy of Kenya’s digital transformation, poisoning communities and draining resources. Handled wisely, it could fuel a green economy that creates jobs, recovers valuable materials, and safeguards public health.
The inaugural summit ended with stakeholders pledging to turn policy into practice. That will mean coordination between national and county governments, integration of the informal sector, and public awareness campaigns so consumers know their role in the cycle.
If Kenya gets it right, it could become a continental leader in circular electronics. If it fails, the costs will be counted not just in tons of waste, but in the health of future generations.
