Stakeholders Call for Urgent Reforms to Strengthen Inclusive and Accountable Waste Governance as Local Democracy Takes Centre Stage.
What happens to a banana peel after you throw it away in the same bin bag containing other trash, including metal scraps, electronics, plastics and more food scraps? In many cities, the bin bag would then be collected by municipal or private waste trucks and taken to a landfill or dumpsite, where it would be unloaded. Informal waste pickers then sort through the piled-up bin bags at these sites, recovering materials like plastics, metals, and paper, while most organic waste remains buried under layers of trash.
Food waste is not just a social issue; it is also an environmental one. In 2022, a fifth of all the food produced globally was wasted, yet many people lacked access to food. According to FAO, 258 million people in 58 countries faced acute food insecurity that year. At the same time, food waste remains a significant contributor to methane emissions, a short-lived greenhouse gas that accelerates global warming, accounting for about 10% total greenhouse gas emissions.
Nairobi, March 3, 2026 - Centre for Environment Justice and Development (CEJAD) and the Heinrich Böll Foundation (HBF) call for the implementation of Kenya's waste management laws and the integration of waste pickers to ensure a true, just transition for waste pickers that prioritizes their dignity, safety, and recognition.
Zero Waste Systems are proving that with the right design, responsibility and community leadership, plastic pollution can be prevented before it even begins.
Every year, the world produces approximately 300 million tonnes of plastic waste, yet only about 9% of it is recycled. The rest ends up in landfills, natural environments, and oceans, where it breaks down into microplastics ,tiny particles that infiltrate our food chains, freshwater systems, and marine environments, posing serious threats to human health and ecosystems.
As the world prepares for the 2025 World Environment Day, themed “Ending Plastic Pollution”, the Centre for Environment Justice and Development (CEJAD), in collaboration with the Swedish International Centre for Local Democracy (ICLD), convened a unique three-day regional conference in Mombasa, Kenya.
Just Transition towards an environmentally sustainable economy can be described as the process of designing, promoting, and implementing actions to transition to the sustainable production and consumption of plastics in a fair and inclusive manner. This ensures that no one is left behind, especially workers and communities most affected by environmental and economic changes.
Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are toxic compounds that remain in the environment for long periods and accumulate in the food chain. They include dioxins, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs), brominated flame retardants, and other POPs listed under the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants. These chemicals pose serious risks to human health, such as cancer, thyroid dysfunction, and reproductive problems.
