East Africa’s fledgling circular economy
By Analysis Desk
Kenya generates 24,000 tonnes of waste daily, totalling 8.8 million tonnes annually, with more than 75 per cent incinerated or disposed of at dumpsites. Less than 10 per cent of waste in Nairobi undergoes recycling, despite an active informal ecosystem employing several thousand residents. The country is home to two of the world’s 50 largest landfills – Dandora in Nairobi and Kibarani in Mombasa.
This challenge is not unique to Kenya. Across East Africa, waste management infrastructure remains underdeveloped, recycling rates stay below 10 per cent, and the informal sector handles most material recovery. Yet within these constraints, a circular economy movement has taken root, driven by local enterprises, policy reform, and growing recognition that waste represents untapped economic value.
The circular economy, a system designed to extend product lifecycles through reuse, repair, and recycling, has moved from conceptual framework to operational necessity. With global waste projected to reach 3.8 billion tonnes annually by 2050 without intervention, the consumer goods sector faces pressure to restructure production models fundamentally.
East African policy landscape
Rwanda became the first country in East Africa to introduce anti-plastic legislation in 2008 when it prohibited the manufacturing, use, sale, and importation of all plastic bags. Uganda and Kenya followed in 2009 and 2017, respectively. At the regional level, the East African Community, an intergovernmental body representing seven countries including Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, South Sudan, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, banned the manufacturing, sale, importation, and use of polythene bags through the East African Community Polythene Materials Control Bill 2017.
Rwanda’s implementation has been notably rigorous. Customs officials at Kigali’s international airport routinely advise arriving passengers to remove plastic encasing from luggage as it is not permitted in the country. Since 1995, the government institutionalised Umuganda, a community service programme requiring people aged 16 to 65 to participate in community clean-up activities on the last Saturday of every month, nationwide. The programme has fostered collective responsibility for waste management.
The Rwandan government provided support including tax incentives to companies willing to invest in plastic recycling equipment or manufacture environment-friendly alternatives. However, manufacturers have faced transition challenges including expensive start-up resources such as capital, technology, manpower, and time constraints.
In Kenya, the Sustainable Waste Management (Extended Producer Responsibility) Regulations gazetted in November 2024 require producers to design products and packaging that minimise waste and facilitate reuse, recycling, and recovery. Producers must establish post-consumer collection and take-back schemes, either individually or through collective Producer Responsibility Organisations.
Eng. Festus Ng’eno, Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Environment, Climate Change and Forestry, described the regulations’ scope in February 2024: “The Sustainable Waste Management Act 2022 presents a major shift towards the circular economy. This is a bold move for Kenya, as the first country to subject all products to EPR. The regulation is very clear; all producers must comply.”
Tanzania faces a more acute challenge. The country produces approximately 20.7 million tonnes of solid waste annually, with only 5 to 10 per cent recycled despite an estimated 70 per cent consisting of recyclable materials. Plastic alone accounts for approximately 0.84 to 1.21 million metric tonnes of waste every year, yet less than 4 per cent is recycled. Tanzania has yet to formalise Extended Producer Responsibility frameworks at scale, leaving much of the burden on underfunded municipalities and informal waste collectors.
Kenyan enterprises driving circular solutions
Local companies have emerged as primary drivers of circular economy implementation in Kenya, developing business models that address both waste accumulation and employment creation.
Gjenge Makers, founded by mechanical engineer Nzambi Matee in 2018, transforms plastic waste into construction materials. The company produces paving blocks by blending shredded plastic with sand, creating materials that are two to seven times stronger than concrete, twice as light, and 15 per cent cheaper. Gjenge Makers produces 500 to 1,000 construction bricks daily, recycling around 500 kilogrammes of plastic waste and has recycled over 200,000 kilogrammes of plastic since inception.
Matee received the United Nations Environment Programme’s Young Champion of the Earth award in 2020. She described her motivation: “I had seen this concept elsewhere in the world and thought that I could come and replicate the same at home. In 2018 we had our first prototype and in 2019 we started the process of machine fabrication.”
The company operates with a team of 10 employees, all below the age of 30, and has created 600 jobs for women, youth organisations, and waste collectors through its supply chain. Gjenge Makers sources raw material from both post-industrial plastic waste from factories and post-consumer plastic waste from recyclers who aggregate disposed materials.
Breaking into the construction sector posed challenges. “The challenge we face now is that the capacity that we have cannot meet the existing demand,” Matee stated. “We would need larger premises, more machinery and more labour to meet the demand.” She also noted the difficulty of being a woman entering a traditionally male construction industry and the extra effort required to help people understand the concept of using recycled materials.
Abdu Muwonge, World Bank Senior Urban Specialist based in Nairobi, described Gjenge Makers’ approach: “Matee’s business of making pavers out of recycled plastic is at the cutting edge of the waste management hierarchy and the circular economy.”
EcoPost, founded by Lorna Rutto, converts plastic waste into durable fencing posts and timber alternatives. The company uses 100 per cent recycled plastics to create products that do not rot, cannot be eaten by termites, and last longer than traditional timber. EcoPost has repurposed more than 13 million kilogrammes of plastic, generating at least 300 employment opportunities, mostly for women in economically disadvantaged neighbourhoods.
The company buys plastic waste and fine biomass including sawdust, rice husks, coffee husks, and macadamia dust, with ongoing requirements for HDPE and PP polythenes. EcoPost works with youth and women groups involved in collecting plastic waste recyclables, waste collection yards in major towns, county officials dealing with waste management, and industries generating plastic waste.
Vintz Plastics, operational since 2010, has recycled approximately 54,000 tonnes of plastic waste over the past decade. The company operates as a social enterprise focused on developing viable sustainable solutions through recycling and waste management. Vintz Plastics has grown its network through vendors, partners, and communities living in informal settlements with collection centres in Kisumu, Mombasa, Nairobi, and Nakuru.
Dinesh Kotecha, founder of Vintz Plastics, established the company from a passion for sustainable living and eliminating waste for future generations. His wife, Vanita Kotecha, has been actively involved in finance and education projects, running Mr. Recycle, an educational initiative on the effects of improper plastic disposal. She emphasises that cleaning one kilogramme of soiled plastics requires 100 litres of water, advocating for zero waste approaches.
Mr. Green Africa became the first recycling company to be a certified B Corporation on the African continent. The company converts locally collected plastic waste into high-quality post-consumer recyclates, selling it as a substitute for imported virgin plastics at competitive rates. Mr. Green Africa operates a technology-driven plastics collection model that integrates informal waste workers, micro-entrepreneurs, and consumers into a formal value chain, providing stakeholders the chance to earn a fair, predictable, and transparent income.
The company has partnered with TotalEnergies to establish plastic collection points at service stations across Nairobi, including locations in Gigiri, Ngong Road, Outering Road, Donholm, Mombasa Road, Dagoretti, Mathare, Airport View, Thika Road, and Waiyaki Way. Consumers can register via mobile phone and receive rewards for dropping off plastics.
Mr. Green Africa also collaborates with Human Needs Project Kenya to combat plastic pollution in Kibera, Kenya’s largest informal settlement, providing collection cages as dedicated drop-off points.
PETCO Kenya specialises in recycling PET plastic bottles, turning waste bottles into valuable products including fibre-fill for duvets, PET trays, geotextiles, and new bottles, thereby closing the recycling loop. The company operates from Athi River and represents one of the few facilities in East Africa capable of processing PET to food-grade standards.
Sanpac Africa Limited develops sustainable alternatives to single-use plastics with emphasis on recycling and a take-back scheme for plastic packing materials. The company addresses both product design and end-of-life management.
Regional context and comparative performance
The circular economy solutions market reached USD 2.7 trillion (approximately KES 351 trillion) in 2024 and is projected to grow at 8.2 per cent annually through 2034. Africa’s position in this market remains modest but shows growth potential.
Anthony Nyong, Director of the Department for Climate Change and Green Growth at the African Development Bank, noted in May 2024 that strategic investments in circular solutions “can unlock a 2.2 per cent increase in GDP for Africa, generate 11 million jobs and access a global circular economy worth USD 526 billion” (approximately KES 68 trillion). Nyong added that “with over 62 per cent of African countries relying on natural resources for their GDP, the circular economy is crucial for the continent’s growth.”
Henry Roman, Regional Representative for Southern Africa at the International Water Management Institute, stated in March 2024: “In Africa, where resource scarcity and environmental degradation pose significant obstacles to development, embracing circular principles can unlock new avenues for job creation, entrepreneurship, and community empowerment.”
The Circularity Gap Report 2024 indicates that global circularity is in decline despite the circular economy entering the mainstream. The share of secondary materials entering the economy declined from 9.1 per cent in 2018 to 7.2 per cent in 2023. In the last six years, the world has consumed nearly as many materials as in the last century.
East Africa’s recycling rates remain below global averages. High-income countries achieved e-waste collection rates above 40 per cent, whilst Central and Southern Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, and sub-Saharan Africa recorded rates below 5 per cent. E-waste is growing five times faster than its recycling rate, driven by short product lifecycles and limited repair infrastructure.
Producer responsibility organisations
The Kenya Extended Producer Responsibility Organisation, launched in 2021, represents the country’s first Producer Responsibility Organisation, evolved from the Kenya Association of Manufacturers’ Kenya Plastic Action Plan 2019. KEPRO has over 400 members addressing post-consumer waste across packaging value chains.
James Odongo, Chief Executive Officer of KEPRO, emphasised the collective nature of the transition during a workshop in Nakuru in June 2024: “Waste management is a shared responsibility, and consumers should be actively engaged in waste management initiatives with more focus on behavioural change and awareness initiatives.”
PROs operate collective schemes where multiple producers with similar products pool resources to fulfil extended producer responsibility obligations. These organisations negotiate with waste service providers, establish collection networks, and charge members fees based on agreed structures. The collaborative approach addresses the challenge that individual companies lack scale to establish comprehensive take-back and recycling infrastructure.
Mary Mwiti, Chief Executive Officer of the Council of Governors, called for county-level action: “True change begins at the grassroots level, and the counties are the core custodians of EPR. Therefore, we must play our role in the enactment and work collaboratively with the private sector and the communities.”
H.E. DG Francis Thoya, Deputy Governor of Mombasa County, addressed producer obligations in March 2024: “The fight against zero waste is won and lost millions of times every single day in each of our choices. Perhaps it should start with the Producer Responsibility Organizations honouring their obligations outlined in the EPR regulations.”
In Rwanda, the Private Sector Federation is set to contribute Rwf690.9 million (approximately KES 90 million or USD 692,000) for collecting, transportation, disposal, and recycling of single-use plastics over five years through the Sustainable Management of Single-use Plastics Project.
Government commitment and policy development
Carole Kariuki, Chief Executive Officer of the Kenya Private Sector Alliance, emphasised the private sector’s role in November 2023: “A sustainable, circular economy is not just a vision; it’s necessary for our survival and the well-being of the planet and future generations. As the private sector, we have the opportunity and the obligation to lead this transformative journey.”
Kariuki added that “the circular economy is growing in Kenya; however, more needs to be done to ensure policy priorities are budgeted and appropriated for the economy to fully go circular.”
In November 2023, immediate former Cabinet Secretary for Environment, Climate Change, and Forestry Soipan Tuya announced government plans to develop a circular economy strategy: “With the circular economy, the country can drive the optimisation of resources, reduce the consumption of raw materials, and recover waste by recycling or giving it a second life as a new product.”
The Climate-KIC Nairobi Circular Economy Baseline Study 2024 found that Kenya is transitioning to a circular economy with political and societal foundation laid through guiding laws and regulations on integrated solid waste management and producer responsibility. However, the study notes that “the emerging enabling environment, through which government, communities, innovators, and the private sector are empowered to implement substantive and customised solutions to phase out waste and optimise resource efficiency, requires empowerment.”
Dennis Kiplagat, Senior Project Officer at Sustainable Inclusive Business Kenya, emphasised design priorities: “By leveraging technology and circular designs such as those developed by the Kenya Plastics Pact on plastics, we can develop products that are not only economically viable but also environmentally friendly, in line with the EPR requirements.”
Women-led circular economy initiatives
Women entrepreneurs have played significant roles in driving Kenya’s circular economy transformation. Beyond Rutto’s EcoPost and Matee’s Gjenge Makers, initiatives such as the Flipflopi Project in Coastal Kenya demonstrate how circular programmes empower women as craftsmen, educators, and environmental champions.
The Flipflopi Project constructs boats and household products from recycled plastic. The initiative developed a plastic recovery and training centre in Lamu County, targeting 60 per cent of the archipelago’s population, providing vocational programmes in plastic processing, upcycling, traditional boatbuilding, and storytelling skills for women.
Dipesh Pabari, Flipflopi co-founder, explained the project’s approach: “A multi-coloured boat made of flip flops is a conversation starter, no matter who you are.” Women affiliated with Flipflopi facilitate workshops, address students, and interact with county authorities, establishing themselves as prominent advocates in environmental policy.
The Flipflopi Lake Victoria campaign navigated Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda with a recycled plastic dhow, highlighting transboundary plastic issues and stimulating regional collaboration. The campaign included community clean-ups and policy discussions in each nation.
These initiatives provide more than employment; they cultivate technical skills, foster leadership, and empower women to become environmental stewards and entrepreneurs. The programmes are transitioning into a scaling phase, characterised by technology-driven geographic expansion, open-source replication resources, and regional advocacy collaborations.
Global companies operating in East Africa
Multinational consumer goods manufacturers with operations in East Africa have deployed circular economy programmes, though implementation varies by market.
Unilever, which operates manufacturing facilities in Kenya and maintains distribution networks across East Africa, committed to reducing packaging waste by 25 per cent by 2025. The company reports achieving 21 per cent recycled plastic in packaging as of 2024, approaching its target. Unilever has also reached 93 per cent of its goal to collect and process more plastic packaging than it sells.
Esi Eggleston Bracey, President of Unilever USA, articulated the business case for infrastructure investment: “Scaling best-in-class circular infrastructure can help increase the supply of recycled plastic, which is key to making circular supply chains a reality. Our investment in Circular Services is an important step in increasing the feedstock needed to achieve Unilever’s 2025 plastics goals.”
Nestlé pledged to make 100 per cent of packaging recyclable or reusable by 2025. Antonia Wanner, Nestlé’s Head of ESG Strategy and Deployment, described the company’s approach: “We are continually pursuing better packaging solutions where we can have a direct impact. With our in-house packaging experts and scientists, we are developing the next generation of packaging materials as well as redesigning packaging for the circular economy.”
Molly Fogarty, Head of Sustainability, Corporate & Government Affairs at Nestlé North America, explained infrastructure investment rationale: “To create a world where packaging never ends up in landfill or as litter, recycling capabilities must evolve, and investing in the infrastructure and circular systems that can help collect, sort, reuse and recycle is a critical step.”
Nestlé partners with 220 initiatives to develop packaging collection, sorting, and recycling efforts across Europe, Africa, Asia, and Latin America. The company’s door-to-door collection programme in Malaysia collected 6,000 tonnes of consumer waste, diverting it from landfill.
Procter & Gamble has eliminated 545 metric tonnes of plastic annually by transitioning Gillette and Venus products to recyclable carton packaging. The company’s hair care brands introduced reusable aluminium bottles with refill pouches that use 60 per cent less plastic.
These global companies joined capital commitments to the Closed Loop Infrastructure Fund, which has received USD 54 million (approximately KES 7 billion) to address recycling bottlenecks. Major brands including Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, Colgate Palmolive, and Keurig Dr Pepper extended commitments to infrastructure supporting circular packaging systems.
Material flows and recycling performance
Based on Kenya National Bureau of Statistics data, out of 2.3 million tonnes of waste generated in 2021, 77 per cent was collected, and less than 10 per cent recycled. Solid waste management and recycling in Nairobi is characterised by informal and inefficient practices, leading to significant environmental challenges.
Of waste generated by Nairobi, only 45 per cent is recycled, reused, or transformed into a form which can yield economic or ecological benefit, far below the 80 per cent target set by the National Environment Management Authority.
Aluminium demonstrates the highest recycling efficiency globally, saving 94 per cent of carbon emissions and 93 per cent of energy compared to virgin production. The material can be recycled indefinitely without quality loss. However, aluminium constitutes a small fraction of East African waste streams.
Electronic waste presents persistent challenges. E-waste generation increased from 6.3 to 7.8 kilogrammes per capita globally between 2015 and 2022, totalling 62 million metric tonnes in 2022. Only 1.7 kilogrammes per capita was collected and managed through proper channels.
The fashion and textiles sector consumes 3.25 billion tonnes of resources annually to produce increasingly short-lived items, according to Circle Economy and the H&M Foundation. East African textile waste management remains largely unaddressed by formal systems.
Infrastructure and technology requirements
Scaling circular economy practices requires substantial infrastructure investment. Eastman opened the world’s largest molecular recycling facility in Tennessee to process hard-to-recycle plastics, demonstrating the capital intensity required. Molecular recycling breaks plastics down to their chemical building blocks, enabling recycling of mixed and contaminated materials that mechanical recycling cannot process.
Tomra Systems deployed sorting technologies using sensors and processing algorithms to enhance material recovery rates. These systems identify and separate materials with greater precision than manual sorting, improving the quality of recycled feedstock. Such advanced technologies remain scarce in East Africa, where manual sorting dominates.
In Kenya, most recycling operations rely on basic mechanical processing. Gjenge Makers developed proprietary machinery for converting plastic waste into construction materials, whilst Mr. Green Africa operates processing equipment at its Nairobi factory to convert collected plastic waste into pellets.
The cost of waste collection represents a significant barrier. In Rwanda, the cost is shared between governments and households that pay varying waste collection fees based on income level. A UNDP-supported plastic recycling facility in Rwanda employs 70 people and has 14 recycling machines, processing collected plastics that are washed and heated to make new pellets.
Rik Irons-McLean, Worldwide Sales Enablement Lead Sustainability at Microsoft, described infrastructure requirements: “The circular economy requires a neutral, scalable and open digital backbone to enable and accelerate transformation, designed with shared-value in mind. This should not only provide new commercial opportunities, but be measurable to show progress.”
Financial structures and economic viability
Circular economy adoption involves significant upfront costs. Implementing new technologies, redesigning products, and establishing collection infrastructure require capital investment that may take years to recoup.
However, operational savings emerge over time. Reduced raw material consumption lowers input costs, particularly as virgin material prices fluctuate. Companies using recycled materials gain supply chain resilience by reducing dependence on commodity markets.
The UN Environment Programme estimates that continuing current waste management practices would cost more than USD 417 billion (approximately KES 54 trillion) annually by 2050, rising from USD 252 billion (approximately KES 33 trillion) in 2020. In contrast, the circular economy scenario would cost less than USD 255 billion (approximately KES 33 trillion) annually whilst delivering superior environmental performance.
Gjenge Makers sells its recycled pavers at approximately KES 1,105 (USD 8.50) per square metre, compared to traditional pavers sold at around KES 1,300 (USD 10) per square metre. The 15 per cent cost advantage provides market access whilst generating margins sufficient to sustain operations.
Access to finance remains challenging for East African circular economy enterprises. Most operate as small and medium enterprises with limited access to commercial credit. Development finance institutions and impact investors have begun providing capital, but availability remains constrained relative to demand.
Linkages to sustainable development goals
Circular economy practices in consumer goods directly support SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production), which calls for sustainable management of natural resources, reduction of waste generation through prevention and recycling, and encouraging companies to adopt sustainable practices.
Between 2019 and 2022, 484 policy instruments supporting the shift to sustainable consumption and production were reported by 62 countries and the European Union. As of 2024, 530 such policies were submitted across 71 countries, a 6 per cent increase from 2023.
SDG 12 Target 12.3 aims to halve per capita global food waste at retail and consumer levels by 2030 and reduce food losses along production and supply chains. The percentage of food lost globally after harvest is estimated at 13.2 per cent in 2021, unchanged from 2016, indicating limited progress toward this target.
Circular practices also contribute to SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure) by promoting resource efficiency and clean technology adoption. The infrastructure investments required for circular systems—collection networks, sorting facilities, and reprocessing plants—create employment whilst reducing environmental impact.
Dame Ellen MacArthur, Founder and Chair of Trustees of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, noted in the organisation’s 2024 Impact Report that “there are clear signs that the circular economy is moving from idea to action across the global economy. Today, 75 per cent of businesses recognise circularity as important, up from 40 per cent from just three years ago.”
Rob Opsomer, Executive Lead for Plastics and Finance at the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, outlined the business imperative in November 2025: “Many business leaders ask me what comes next. My answer is simple: don’t wait. The companies that act now can help shape effective policies and make circular solutions the new normal. By working together, they’ll cut transition costs and build resilience in a fast-changing world.”
The Foundation’s CEO, Jonquil Hackenberg, who assumed the role in November 2024, stated: “Stepping into the role of CEO, I feel honoured to lead an organisation I have long admired. The Ellen MacArthur Foundation is a singular, world-leading force for change. It has spent the last 15 years putting the circular economy on the map as a fundamental way to solve critical global challenges.”
Implementation challenges
Despite policy development and entrepreneurial activity, circular economy adoption in East Africa faces persistent obstacles. Supply chain complexity makes it difficult to track materials and ensure quality through multiple use cycles. Recycled materials often command unstable prices, creating financial uncertainty for companies that commit to using them.
Collection infrastructure remains inadequate across the region. In Tanzania, although an estimated 70 per cent of waste consists of recyclable materials, only 5 to 10 per cent is recycled due to collection and processing constraints. Kenya faces similar challenges, with collection rates varying significantly between urban and rural areas.
Consumer behaviour change requires sustained education and convenient participation mechanisms. Companies report that establishing take-back programmes involves logistics costs and operational complexity. Fragmented waste management systems, particularly where informal collectors operate independently, hinder coordination between producers, recyclers, and government authorities.
Technical limitations persist for certain materials. Mixed plastics, laminated packaging, and composite materials remain difficult to recycle economically. Chemical recycling and other advanced technologies offer potential solutions but require development and scaling to achieve cost competitiveness with virgin material production.
Ashley Olsson, Committee Member for Circular Economy at Standards Australia, identified a key challenge in corporate leadership understanding in late 2024: “We’ve talked to many CEOs about circularity in the last 18 months. They don’t see the full potential. They have recycling tunnel vision.”
The Climate-KIC Nairobi study identified that “strategic guidance, strong partnerships, and capacity building are needed to act as catalysts” for Kenya’s circular economy transition. The study noted that whilst the political and societal foundation exists through laws and regulations, the enabling environment requires empowerment to implement substantive solutions.
Path forward
The transition to circular models represents a fundamental restructuring of production and consumption systems. Companies that develop capabilities in circular design, reverse logistics, and secondary material sourcing will be better positioned to navigate regulatory requirements and resource constraints.
East African circular economy development will depend on several factors: continued policy innovation and enforcement consistency across jurisdictions; infrastructure investment in collection, sorting, and processing facilities; capacity building for informal sector integration; and financial mechanisms that reduce capital barriers for circular enterprises.
Regional collaboration offers potential advantages. The East African Community’s coordinated approach to plastic bag bans demonstrates capacity for policy alignment. Extending this coordination to EPR implementation, recycling standards, and cross-border material flows could accelerate circular economy development.
Those that delay face increasing compliance costs and reputational risk as consumer and investor expectations shift toward sustainability performance. Achieving meaningful circularity at scale will require continued collaboration across government, private sector, and civil society.
The question is whether the pace of change can match the urgency of resource depletion and waste accumulation challenges facing Kenya, East Africa, and the global economy.
