The second pilot project by Clean Oceans Project Identification and Preparation (COPIP), targeting source separation of waste in Mvita and Likoni sub-counties of Mombasa, has launched on 28 March 2024. The COPIP Pilot project on Segregation of Waste at Source is being implemented by World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Kenya, and will work with registered community-based organizations and private waste companies in Mombasa to ensure the separate collection of waste, material recovery and recycling. It complements the first COPIP pilot project TakaConnect, a regional app and website developed by Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute (KMFRI) to leverage technology in waste management.
The new pilot is part of the COPIP approach: to test innovative ideas, build awareness and commitment, as well as develop proof-of-concept of selected solid waste management project components in coastal cities in sub-Saharan Africa, including Mombasa. COPIP recently finalized the Mombasa Solid Waste Circular Economy Projectprefeasibility study and will soon commence a feasibility study to further examine the project’s identified technical options, capital expenditure, operating expenditures and key environmental and social impacts and mitigation.
County Government of Mombasa officials, including Deputy Governor H.E. Francis Thoya and Chief Officer at the Department of Environment & Solid Waste Pauline Oginga, affirmed that the initiative will greatly enable a transformation in how solid waste management activities are undertaken in Mombasa. In addition, this is the first such pilot project in Kenya since the gazettement of the Sustainable Solid Waste Management Act 2022, which makes it mandatory to separate waste at source in Kenya. As such, it is an opportunity for other counties to learn and replicate.
Two electric and three petrol-powered tuk tuks, waste collection bins and bin liners for separate collection, personal protective equipment, and information sheets on how to sort waste at source were handed over to the beneficiaries. Other notable components of the pilot project include awareness creation through art and the production of a documentary on source separation to support behaviour change. The COPIP projects are aligned to specific country development needs, and to initiatives such as the International Day of Zero Waste held each 30 March and the sixth session of the United Nations Environment Assembly held from 26 February to 1 March 2024 – events that underscore the need to tackle the crisis of pollution and waste through the adoption of low-cost and practical solutions.
