SUSTAINABLE E-WASTE MANAGEMENT IN MANUFACTURING AND

PROCESSING INDUSTRIES AT THE MOMBASA INDUSTRIAL AREA KENYA

ABSTRACT
Kenya’s manufacturing and processing sector is among the key productive sectors identified for
economic growth and development because of its immense potential for wealth, employment
creation and poverty alleviation. Currently Kenya’s industrial sector is one of the largest in sub
Saharan Africa, the sector is highly fragmented with more than 2,000 manufacturing enterprises.
The presence of these industries has led to rise in e-waste due to changes in technology, wear
and tear, and high rates of obsolescence of the electrical equipments. The country is also likely
to experience an increase in e-waste there will be an upsurge of similar industries due to the
formation county government as envisaged by the constitution of Kenya 2010, as the counties
are all out to embrace industrial growth. The project explored how an integrated approach to e-
waste management can be applied in industrial area, MOMBASA County in order to address the
problem of e-waste brought about by the presence of high number industries. The study included
an analysis of the legal, policy and institutional framework governing e-waste management and
general waste management. The study also sought to assess how e-waste is handled in
manufacturing and processing industries in industrial area MOMBASA as well as examining
critical challenges constraining e-waste management in Industrial area, MOMBASA County.
One of the findings of the study was that there exist some legislative gaps to address and regulate
e-waste in the country. It was established that the legal and institutional framework governing e-
waste do not efficiently address the problem. The national policies do not directly address the
problem of e-waste but solid waste in general, enforcement of the regulations on general waste
management has proved to be a problem by NEMA as there is no substantive control in the
sector. The ministry of environment and natural resources and e-waste handlers-WEEE also
believe that the policies and regulations in the country do not sufficiently address the problem of
e- waste in specific and that such policies should be reviewed. They observed that those relevant
institutions that have the responsibility to manage wastes in the country lack adequate capacity to
carry out there mandate; such bodies are not allocated enough funds from the central
government. They also have limited personnel to carry out enforcement of the regulations. On
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environmental reporting which is a prerequisite for sustainable development, many of the
respondents at the industry level admitted that there companies do not practice routine
environmental reporting where both internal and external auditing on the state of the
environment should be done. Routine environmental reporting is very important in realizing
sustainability on matters of environmental management; it ensures disclosure of the state of the
environment at given periods, which ensures industries comply with laws and regulation
governing the sector. Some of the manufacturing and processing industries do not have health
and safety measure in place in their organization. Most of the industries do not have procedures
of e-waste handling in their organizations, these two issues are very critical when it comes to
handling e-waste, there absence in industries means high vulnerability during the handling
process. EMCA, 1999 provides for the integration of environmental concerns in national
policies, plans, programmes and projects. In this regard, it provides for the formulation of
National, Provincial and District Environment Action Plans every five years, there is therefore
need to restructure the former provisional administration to fit in the new county government
structure for this purpose. The study calls for urgent and comprehensive integrated framework,
which will ensure functional systems and structures, are put in place for proper e-waste
management hence reducing significantly the human and environmental impacts of poor e-waste
handling by taking action to address gaps in policy and institutional framework governing the
sector both at the national and county government. It also calls for manufacturing industries to
put in place measures towards environmental compliance

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 CHAPTER ONE
1.0 INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the problem

The world is currently undergoing first rate of industrialization with
manufacturing and processing industries on rise, technological change with desire
to improve efficiency in industries is also on rise. In the last two decades, the
global growth in electrical and electronic equipment production and consumption
has been exponential. Today, e-waste is the fastest growing waste stream, about 4
per cent growth a year. The global generations of e-waste is estimated to be about
40 million tonnes per year (Schluep et al., 2009) and this is attributed to increase
in market penetration of products in developing countries, development of a
replacement market in developed countries and a generally high product
obsolescence rate (UNEP, 2004).

Generally, e-waste flows to disadvantaged and historically marginalized areas that

are characterized by poor economies. The complexities of decision making such
as whether to treat e-waste domestically or through export, or to dispose of or
recycle it, raises legal, environmental, political, economic and ethical issues. The
trade in e-waste has grown not only between the developed and developing
countries but also among the developing countries themselves, reflecting a
continuous growth and tolerance for cross-border movement (Ray, 2008). In
Asian, illegal exporters of e-waste to China evade detection by routing container
ships through Hong Kong, Taipei or the Philippines, and then trans-shipping them
to smaller ports in mainland China, where customs officials are corrupts and
willing to share the profits. Dubai and Singapore often serve as transit points for
e-waste from developed countries (Kalra, 2004). According to Green Peace
International, hazardous wastes are also being shipped to China illegally from
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developed countries like USA, Japan and Canada, despite the fact that Basal
Convention prohibits trans-boundary movement of hazardous waste. The
escalation of this problem in China is not due to the lack of laws and regulations,
but rather due to ineffective enforcement (Ni & Zeng, 2009). China is also among
the countries with the highest number of manufacturing and processing industries
in the world, in 2011 it was the world's second largest producer of electronic
waste producing 2.3 million tonnes, which therefore means that e-waste from
used electrical and electronics components is high. Although China enforces
many laws and even

signed the Basel Convention, being one of the first global proponents of a total
ban on the hazardous waste trade between developed and developing countries,
the number of illegal shipments of e-waste to China continues to rise
significantly. Despite laws and polices enacted by the Chinese Government on
illegal importation and handling of e-waste in China, this problem still escalates
has been is thought to escalates due to rather ineffective enforcement (Ni & Zeng,
2009).

1.2 Statement of the Problem

The industrial area of MOMBASA County has the highest number of industries
in one locality in the country and in East Africa at large, most of which are
manufacturing and processing. Currently the sector is one of the largest in sub
Saharan Africa. Industrialization is also expected to grow to higher levels, and
provisions in the vision 2030 and the Constitution of Kenya 2010 that embraces
county governments and economic growth in general have necessitated this.
Given that, counties are all out to bring economic growth and development by
embracing industrial growth. The presence of these will lead to a rise in e-waste
from passive elements due increased changes in technology, wear and tear, and
high rates of obsolescence of the electrical and electronics equipment’s and
modules in the industries.

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E wastes from passive elements contain toxic substances such as lead, cadmium,
mercury, American and lithium (Cui & Jirang, 2008). These toxic materials can
be released upon poor disposal and crude recycling process hence posing a threat
to the environment. In addition to its damaging effect on the environment,
researchers have linked e-waste to adverse effects on human health, such as
cardiovascular disease, DNA damage and possibly cancer (UNEP, 2009).

Even though we have several legislative and regulatory frameworks governing

general waste management in the country, there are no laws specifically on e-
waste. The regulatory structure as it is, is not efficient in handling the situation on
the ground hence such waste are not properly managed. This is likely to affect the
environment in the near future due to poor handling of the e- waste.

1.2 Research Questions

In response to the research problem, the following research questions were formulated:

1. Do the existing policies provide a framework for safe, efficient and

environmentally sound e-waste management?
2. How is e-waste handled in manufacturing and processing industries
especially from passive elements?
3. What are the critical challenges and problems of e-waste management
from passive elements in industrial area MOMBASA County?

4. What are the opportunities, potentials and capacities of matters

concerning e-waste management from passive elements in
manufacturing?

1.3 Research Objectives

1. To review existing policies and regulatory framework that
governs e-waste management in Kenya.
2. To examine out how e-waste from passive elements are being
handled in manufacturing and processing industries.
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 3. To examine critical challenges constraining e-waste management in
industrial area MOMBASA County.
4. To come up with an integrated plan on e-waste management in
industrial area MOMBASA County.

1.4 Research Premises

1. Industrial sector in Kenya lacks a clear policy and regulatory
framework to control and govern the industry on matters regarding
to e-waste management.
2. There are no defined roles and responsibilities of various
stakeholders on matters regarding e waste.
3. E-waste guide lines regarding e waste identification has a lot of
gaps omitting many other types of e-waste.
4. There is no integrated plan on e waste management in the country
and in particular industrial area.

1.5 Justification of the study

The industrial area of MOMBASA County has the highest number of industries
in one locality in the country and in East Africa at large, most of which are
manufacturing and processing industries. The presence of these industries in a
common locality have led to a rise in e-waste from passive elements due
increased changes in technology, wear and tear, and high rates of obsolescence of
the electrical and electronics equipment’s and modules. The global generations of
e-waste is estimated to be about 40 million tonnes per year (Schluep et al., 2009)
and this is attributed to increase in market penetration of products in developing
countries, development of a replacement market in developed countries and a
generally high product obsolescence rate (UNEP, DTIE, 2004). E-waste
generated from these industries is not properly managed due to lack of clear
policy framework that seeks to guide and streamline the sector through proper
policies, laws and clear guidelines that brings in all stakeholders.

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1.6 Significance of the study
The problem of e-waste management is a global issue and with the dire need for
industrial growth in Kenya brought about by the vision 2030 and constitution that
embraces county government and industrial growth, the problem of e-waste is
likely to grow to unmanageable levels if the problem is not addressed. The study
will therefore address the problem of e-waste in manufacturing and processing
industries hence ensuring functional systems and structures are put in place to
ensure proper e-waste management hence reducing significantly the human and
environmental effects that are brought about by the industry mismanagement. The
study will also seek to define roles of different stakeholders on matters concerning
e-waste management hence closing the gaps that have been left on e waste
management cycle; the study will also seek to

review with purpose to strengthen various institutional frameworks concerned

with waste management and specially e-waste.

1.7 Scope the of study

The Location of the study is in Kenya, MOMBASA County industrial area. Its
geographical coordinates are 1° 18' 0" South, 36° 50' 0" East Industrial Area.
The main focus of the study being e-waste from passive electrical and electronics
elements and modules that have a wide application in manufacturing and
processing industries; which includes capacitors, resistors, transducers,
transformers, sensors and inductive devices. With a view of carrying out detailed
study to examine the critical challenges with regard to this type of e-waste in the
sector and how to address the challenges associated with it. The respondents in
the study being, the county government of MOMBASA, manufacturing and
processing industries, communities living near industrial area, waste handlers and
all stakeholders in matters of environment who included NEMA, MENR and the
MoI.

1.8 Limitations of the Study

 Inaccessibility: most of the residential areas in industrial area are slums

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 hence making access difficult, some of the industries cannot be
accessed by public transport as they are located far from main roads.
 Sensitivity of the topic of study: the topic of study was sensitive to
some of the people I interviewed and therefore they could not willingly
disclose all the information they have.
 Inadequate technical information: many of the respondents have no
technical information on e-waste and therefore I could not obtain
quality information as anticipated.
 In other areas I was denied entry into their premises, making it difficult
for me to conduct interviews in those companies.