Kisii, Kenya: The stakeholders in solid waste management in  Kisii town, Kenya, provided inputs to the draft long term strategy for solid waste management in the town. The strategy was prepared UN-Habitat in consultation with Kisii town authorities. The Strategy Document is one of the three outputs under the ongoing UN-Habitat and Kisii County Project. The other two outputs of the project are: Establishing the status of solid waste management in Kisii town and creating additional employment opportunities for youths through plastic recycling. UN-Habitat will collate the inputs from stakeholders into a final draft that will be submitted to the County authorities for adoption and subsequent approval. The validation workshop was held on 27 and 28 February 2019 in Kisii town and was attended by UN-Habitat, Kisii county government officials, youth groups, Kenya scouts, Kisii University, Kisii college of Accountancy and Global New Life Vision.

The youth livelihoods component of the project is implemented through 6 Youth Groups, having a total of 120 youths. The youth groups have been actively involved in the project and the activities conducted so far include collection of plastic wastes, characterization of the plastic wastes based type, shredding and melting of the plastics waste, molding the shredded and liquefied plastic waste into various shapes and generating valuable products. The groups have been carrying out marketing of the recycled plastic products across the country and have specifically participated in the following fora:

1)           2017 Bizarre Bazaar at Karura Forest;

2)           2017 Nairobi Design Week

3)           2017 Kisii ASK Show

4)           2018 Sustainable Inclusive Business Forum at USIU School of Business.

5)           2018 World Environment Day

6)           2018 UN-Habitat presentations to Kajiado County Governor

7)           2018 International Youth Day officiated by HE Uhuru Kenyatta

The Youth Groups plan to engage in mass production of plastic products that could be used in the housing construction sector such as door knobs, fencing poles and tiles in addition to the production of lampshades and bowls.

This project, that is supported with funding from the Government of Kenya, builds upon the structure, experiences and challenges drawn from the Lake Victoria Water and Sanitation Phase One Initiative (LVWATSAN 1) that was funded by African Development Bank (AfDB) and Implemented by UN-Habitat in towns around Lake Victoria including the then Kisii Municipality.