ISSN 2375-1266
African Journal of Environmental and Waste Management ISSN: 2375-1266 Vol. 9 (8), pp. 001-019, August, 2022. © International Scholars Journals
Full Length Research Paper
A review of policies, legislations and practices on off-grid solar electronic waste management in Kenya
Clara Cooper¹, Kelvin Smith², Larry Williamsᶾ
Department of Spatial and Environmental Planning Kenyatta University P.O. Box 43844-00100.1,2
Department for Wind Energy Technical University of Denmark Frederiksborgvej 399 Building 115 4000 Roskilde.3
Abstract
Off-grid solar systems in developing countries will play a key role in the realization of sustainable development goal number seven on clean energy sources.As the uptake of solar energy systems continue to rise globally,solar electronic waste will continue to increase.Electronic solar waste is categorized as hazardous with devastating effects on the environment if poorly managed.Effective policy,legislations and practicesare key to sustainable management of this waste category.The aim of this study was to reviewthe policy,legislations and practices in solar e-waste management in Kenya.The studyexamined existing solar electronic wastemanagement policies,legal, institutional framework and management practices in Kenya.In addition, the study examined solar electronic waste governance approaches in developed and emerging economies.The study adopted a systematic literature review augmented with views from solar ectronic waste stakeholders workshop data collection method.The study established that Kenya does not have a specific solar electronic wastepolicy and legal framework andthe management of this category of waste streamis governed by thegeneral electronic waste policies and legislations.This is different fromdeveloped countriessuch as the United Kingdom and several States in USA such whohave developed specific policies and legislations to govern management of the growing solar e-waste.In addition,the study established that many emerging economies such as India are yet to develop supportive legislation for solar e-waste similar to the Kenyan scenario. The study established that there are some ongoing efforts geared towards policy and legal framework development to enhance governance of solar electronic waste in Kenya, which require to be fast-tracked due to the rising uptake of off-grid solar energy systems in the country.
Keywords: Solar Electronic Waste, Policy, Recycling, Collection, Off-grid, legislations