Extended producer responsibility Kenya: 5 EPR rules for firms

Updated 12 November 2026

Extended producer responsibility (EPR) is the Kenyan rule that makes the business that puts a product on the market pay for what happens to it, and its packaging, after the customer throws it away. Since 4 November 2024, the Sustainable Waste Management (Extended Producer Responsibility) Regulations, 2024 (Legal Notice 176 of 2024) have required manufacturers, importers and brand owners of listed products to register with the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA), join or run a take-back scheme, and report. This guide sets out who is covered, what extended producer responsibility requires, the fees in KSh and the penalties.

Updated 12 November 2026. Sources: the Regulations as published by NEMA (LN 176/2024), NEMA’s EPR page, its public notice on implementation and its EPR FAQs. This is general information, not legal advice.

What extended producer responsibility means in Kenya

The Regulations were made under section 13 of the Sustainable Waste Management Act (Cap. 387C), signed on 14 October 2024 by the then Cabinet Secretary for Environment, Climate Change and Forestry, and gazetted on 4 November 2024, according to NEMA’s public notice. Regulation 3 gives three aims: extend a producer’s responsibility over a product and its packaging through its life cycle, set up mandatory extended producer responsibility schemes, and put the polluter pays principle into practice.

Two definitions do most of the work. A product is any good or packaging introduced to the market through production, importation, franchising, marketing or distribution, and packaging is itself treated as a product. A producer responsibility organisation (PRO) is a membership body of producers that takes on the legal obligation to carry out extended producer responsibility for its members, in what the Regulations call a collective scheme.

Who must comply with extended producer responsibility, and which products

Regulation 4 applies the rules to producers, to extended producer responsibility schemes and to the products in the First Schedule. NEMA’s notice says “producers” means manufacturers, importers and brand owners, and its FAQ says there is no difference between a manufacturer and a brand owner: both introduce products into the Kenyan market, and both must account for their share so the fee is not counted twice.

The Schedule as printed shows KSh150 per item in each category and ties it to the importer fee in regulation 6. It does not define “item” further, so importers should confirm with NEMA how the fee is applied to their consignment before pricing it in.

The 5 core extended producer responsibility obligations

Regulation 5 lists ten duties for every producer. They group into five practical obligations:

1. Register with NEMA as a producer and report on how you are meeting your obligations.
2. Join or set up a scheme: either join a collective scheme run by a PRO, or set up and register your own individual scheme. NEMA’s EPR page says businesses must pay EPR fees and register with a PRO scheme.
3. Take back: establish a take-back scheme, which may include a deposit refund system, and take financial, organisational and physical responsibility for collecting, treating and disposing of your post-consumer products.
4. Design for less waste: design products and packaging that minimise waste and can be reused, recycled or recovered, and carry out product life cycle assessments.
5. Tell consumers: give buyers information on how to handle the product after use, and put circular economy measures in place.

NEMA’s FAQ adds detail on how money flows. The fee a PRO charges a producer covers collection, transport, public awareness, recycling, incineration, landfilling, auditing and reporting. Producers are expected to publish a payment rate per product for waste collection, paid at collection points or material recovery facilities so that it reaches waste pickers. A producer that fails to pay its PRO for three months is treated as non-compliant and reported to NEMA.

Registration, import certificates and fees

Producers register on Form C with a copy of the company registration certificate, a document listing the goods and packaging they introduce, and proof of payment. NEMA must decide within 14 days and notify the applicant within 7 days of deciding. Importers have a separate step: under regulation 6 they apply at the point of import for an extended producer responsibility certificate (Form A), and the certificate (Form B) becomes part of the mandatory clearance documents. NEMA’s EPR page says import certificates are obtained through the National Electronic Single Window System, the platform described in our KenTrade Single Window guide.

The transitional rule in regulation 23 gave producers already operating six months from commencement to register, which NEMA’s notice tied to the 4 November 2024 gazettement, so that window closed in May 2025. Any producer still unregistered is now outside the grace period. For a new product line, register before it goes to market.

Extended producer responsibility offences and enforcement

Regulation 21 creates these offences:

• an individual scheme or PRO that wilfully fails to carry out its obligations, where the court can also order it to bear the cost of the unmet obligation;
• selling a product on behalf of a producer who is not on NEMA’s published register;
• giving false or misleading information on quantities held or managed; and
• being a “free rider”: a producer that is not in a PRO and does not meet its individual obligations.

Where no specific penalty is given, regulation 22 applies the general penalty in section 32 of the Sustainable Waste Management Act. NEMA’s FAQ says it will cross-check producer data against databases held by agencies such as KEBS and KRA and summon producers missing from its register. The retailer offence matters for distributors and supermarkets: stocking an unregistered brand is itself an offence.

A compliance checklist for SMEs

• Map your products and packaging against the five First Schedule categories, including the packaging on imported goods.
• Agree with suppliers and brand owners who declares which share, so the fee is not paid twice (NEMA’s FAQ example is a business that buys T-shirts and screen-prints them).
• Register as a producer with NEMA and keep the certificate on file.
• Join a PRO, or budget for the KSh5,000 registration and KSh50,000 yearly licence of an individual scheme plus your own take-back costs.
• Importers: add the EPR certificate to your clearance checklist alongside the KEBS PVoC certificate.
• Keep records of volumes; NEMA receives annual reports from both producers and PROs.

Projects that also need environmental approval should read our NEMA EIA licence guide, and listed companies can see how waste data feeds into NSE ESG reporting requirements.

Frequently asked questions

What is extended producer responsibility in Kenya?

It is the legal duty, under section 13 of the Sustainable Waste Management Act and the EPR Regulations 2024, for producers to manage their products and packaging after consumers discard them, by registering with NEMA, joining or running a take-back scheme and reporting.

Who must register for EPR with NEMA?

Manufacturers, importers and brand owners of products and packaging in the First Schedule, which covers most packaging, electronics and batteries, end-of-life vehicles, tyres, textiles, furniture, diapers and sanitary towels.

How much is EPR registration in Kenya?

The Third Schedule sets KSh5,000 for one-off producer registration. A collective scheme pays KSh10,000 to register and KSh100,000 a year; an individual scheme pays KSh5,000 and KSh50,000 a year.

What is a PRO?

A producer responsibility organisation is a membership body of producers that takes on the extended producer responsibility obligations of its members in a collective scheme, collecting fees and paying for collection and recycling.

Can a shop be penalised for selling unregistered products?

Yes. Regulation 21(3) makes it an offence to introduce a product to the market on behalf of a producer who is not on NEMA’s register.