By Milliam Murigi
Kenya is looking beyond banning single-use plastics and towards refill and reuse systems as the next frontier in the fight against the country’s growing plastic waste problem.
The shift comes as environmental groups handed over policy recommendations to the government aimed at strengthening Kenya’s policy framework for refill and reuse systems.
Receiving the recommendations from Greenpeace Africa and other environmental groups, Njoroge Mbitu, Deputy Director at the State Department for Environment and Climate Change, said Kenya had made significant progress in tackling single-use plastics but warned that banning products was only the beginning.
“Banning or restricting certain single-use plastic products is an important step, but it is not the final destination. We must address the systems that continue to generate unnecessary waste in the first place, and this is where refill and reuse become very, very important,” Mbitu said.
Mbitu said Kenya’s environmental policies were increasingly aimed at moving the country away from the traditional linear economy of take, make and dispose towards a circular economy where products and materials remain in use for longer.
As part of this transition, he announced, that the State Department for Environment, working through the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) and with support from World Wildlife Fund (WWF), is finalising guidelines for refill and reuse of plastic packaging.
The government is also developing a national circular economy strategy and implementation plan, expected to be completed by November, with refill and reuse expected to form a key part of the country’s transition towards circularity.
For Mbitu, refill and reuse are not entirely new concepts in Kenya. Returnable beverage bottles and gas cylinders, he said, offer examples of systems where containers are designed to remain in circulation rather than being discarded after a single use.
“You don’t see a gas cylinder in a dumpsite,” Mbitu said, pointing to it as an example of a successful refill system. The challenge is whether similar systems can be developed for plastic packaging.
Drawing a distinction between reuse and repurposing, he said a genuine reuse system involves packaging deliberately designed to be returned, cleaned and used repeatedly for the same purpose. That means manufacturers must design packaging with multiple uses in mind and establish reverse logistics systems to collect containers and return them for refilling.
“Refill and reuse of packaging represents a major opportunity to cut material waste, reduce the volume of plastics entering the environment and shift the country away from a throwaway culture towards a more circular economy,” Mbitu said.
The renewed focus on reuse comes as environmental campaigners warn that Kenya’s gains from its landmark plastic bag ban remain under threat. According to them the government need to strengthen enforcement and close loopholes that allow illegal plastics to find their way into local markets.
“Porous borders, illegal imports and unregulated suppliers threaten to reverse gains made since Kenya introduced its landmark ban on single-use plastic carrier bags in 2017,” says Hellen Kahaso Dena, Plastics Project Lead at Greenpeace Africa.
The groups say Kenya’s existing waste management laws and extended producer responsibility regulations recognize refill and reuse but do not impose binding requirements on manufacturers to adopt returnable packaging.
They are now pushing for manufacturers to take greater responsibility for preventing waste at source rather than focusing primarily on collecting plastic after it has already been discarded.
“Producer responsibility must go beyond collection and disposal. Producers should reduce unnecessary packaging, eliminate toxic chemicals, design products that are safe for human health and the environment and invest in reuse and refill systems,” said Ledoner Okeyo from Centre for Environment Justice and Development(CEJAD).
The recommendations also call for tougher action against illicit cross-border supply chains and for waste pickers to be formally integrated and compensated within national circular economy plans.
According to WWF Kenya’s Yvonne Khaemba, preventing waste at source through refill and reuse systems could reduce pressure on ecosystems, conserve resources and support the transition to a circular economy.
“Coupled with stronger leadership and investment across the full lifecycle of packaging, this approach protects biodiversity, conserves resources and accelerates the transition to a circular economy,” said Khaemba.
The transition towards refill and reuse according to Mbitu, could also create economic opportunities for Kenyans, particularly young people and women. Unlike single-use packaging, reuse systems require containers to be collected, transported, cleaned and returned into circulation, creating jobs across the value chain.
But he cautioned that the transition must be inclusive and practical. Refill and reuse systems, he said, should not become solutions available only to wealthier consumers but must be convenient and affordable for ordinary households, small businesses and communities.
“Whenever there will be cleaning and reverse logistics, a lot of jobs are created in the value chains of refill and reuse,” he said.
