【Kenya】Tackling Waste Issues Hand-in-Hand with Kenyan Government Officials
Peace Winds is providing a range of sanitation support for both refugees and host communities in Turkana County, Republic of Kenya—specifically within Kakuma Refugee Camp and the Kalobeyei Integrated Settlement. Among these efforts is a solid waste management project that supports the collection, sorting, and recycling of the roughly 184 tons of waste that are produced every day. Since 2023, Peace Winds has been implementing this project with funding from Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The project has included establishing communal collection points and transfer stations for temporary waste storage. In 2025, we built a Material Recovery Facility (MRF) where collected waste would be sorted and processed for transfer to recycling companies.
In addition, Peace Winds has been conducting training for local community groups responsible for primary waste collection, empowering residents to separate and collect their own waste. A system is also being developed to encourage residents to financially contribute to the cost of waste collection by fostering community awareness and engagement in environmental improvement.
However, with the refugee population in Kakuma and Kalobeyei reaching 300,000 as of March 2025, administrative support is essential to ensure the long-term sustainability of waste management systems. In 2023, the area was reorganized as the Kakuma Municipality, and improving waste management has become a critical issue for such a large population.
In May 2025, Peace Winds invited the Deputy Governor of Turkana County and the Head of the Kakuma Municipality to Osaki Town in Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan—a town known for achieving an 80% recycling rate of all its garbage. This visit aimed to help Kenyan officials reflect on the vital role of local governments in waste management. Over four days, the delegation made a courtesy visit to the town’s mayor, toured landfills, recycling centers and composting facilities, and observed the waste-sorting activities of local residents and elementary school students. They also attended lectures by facility experts.
The Kenyan officials were particularly impressed by Osaki Town’s commitment to resource circulation, such as converting used cooking oil into fuel for heavy machinery at the recycling center and developing technologies in collaboration with private companies to recycle used diapers into new ones. The officials also took note of the community-building aspects of waste-sorting, such as intergenerational interactions—including with elderly residents—born out of neighborhood clean-up and separation efforts. These experiences offered valuable insights into what local governments can do.
Far from assuming such initiatives are only possible in Japan, the Kenyan delegation expressed strong motivation to replicate similar efforts in their own country, saying, “We want to create jobs for Kenyan youth by utilizing resources like Osaki Town does.” Passionate discussions followed on how to adapt and implement these practices in Kenya.
Peace Winds will continue to follow up with these government officials as they return to Kenya and support the realization of a circular society in Kakuma—where waste is sorted, turned into resources, and those resources are effectively reused.