The Kisii County Government has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with British and Malaysian investors on e-waste management.
In the pact, Kisii University will provide a collection site while the County Government will provide a forklift and a ccompactiing machine.
The investor, East African Compliant Recycling (EACR) will provide a container and pay waste collectors in a project aimed at cleaning the environment while creating sustainable livelihoods for locals.
The MoU was signed by Kisii County Governor, James Ongwae, KIsii University Council chairman Prof. Sebastian Mwarania and the investor Robert Truscott.
"This noble initiative is timely as the country is grappling with waste management. We have issues in managing waste because land meant for this function was grabbed which has forced us to buy space from private indiviiduals. We shall provide an enabling environment for such investors," said Ongwae.
He said the plant would be useful for research and capacity buiding and supplement efforts by his government to manage biodegradable and non-biodegradable waste.
On his part, Truscott, the EACR chief executive officer, said in emerging countries, the rapid economic growth had led to a rise in the generation of elecrical and electronic (e-waste), coming both from local consumers and recycling of second-hand equipment imported for re-use.
"We shall buy this hazardous waste from collectors and process the material for the export market creating jobs and cleaning the environment even as we make profit. We have a short time time in this planet so let us clean it," said Truscott.
Kisii University Vice Chancelllor Prof. John Akama welcomed the project saying it was a win-win deal as it will create jobs while proviide opprtunity for research. Varsities in Africa have been accused of bearing an ivory tower mentality offering practical solutions through research. We shall start training on e-waste management through this project," said Prof. Akama.
He challenged dons at the university to conduct research on how the project can spur youth empowerment.
Governor Ongwae said the County Government had aside sh. 10 million to be used in sustainably cleaning Nyakomisaro River that traverses Kisii Town using expertise from the varsity.
About e-waste in Africa
"E-waste in Africa is growing 20% each year due to rising sales of electronic goods and legal and illegal imports of second hand and surplus equipment," explains Dr. Kirstie McIntyre, Head of Environmental Compliance at HP.
The lack of a sustainable e-waste management infrastructure means that e-waste is collected and recycled in crude methods, causing the release of toxic chemicals to the environment and putting those refurbishing and dismantling e-waste at risk.
This is aggravated by the fact these countries usually have little e-waste legislation and no regulations to protect the health of e-waste workers.
