Packaging rule · Kenya · EPR
Sustainable Waste Management (EPR) Regulations, 2024
Extended producer responsibility (EPR) rule covering all packaging in Kenya, set by Cabinet Secretary for Environment; National Environment Management Authority. Applies since 4 November 2024.
The rule
Recorded from the official source named below. Rates and dates are as the source states them on the date it was consulted.
- Jurisdiction
- Kenya
- Authority
- Cabinet Secretary for Environment; National Environment Management Authority
- Rule type
- EPR
- Materials
- All packaging
- Status
- In force Enacted
- Adopted or published
- 6 December 2024
- Applies from
- 4 November 2024
From the source“Each producer in operation before the commencement of these Regulations shall apply to the Authority for registration within six months after the commencement of these Regulations”
Official source Kenya Law: L.N. 176 of 2024Official (government or regulator) · consulted 13 October 2026
Key dates
Applies from 1 year and 11 months ago
Adopted or published 1 year and 10 months ago
Source consulted by the SPI team today
Re-checked by a second SPI team member today
What it means
SPI analysis Our reading of the official source above. Not legal advice; always rely on the official text.
SPI summary
Legal Notice 176 of 2024 requires producers of listed products, including plastic, aluminium, composite, paper, glass and carton packaging, to register and operate through compliance schemes; existing producers had six months to apply for registration.
In practice
Producers placing listed products on the Kenyan market, including packaging of plastic, aluminium, composites, paper, glass, board and cartons, must register with NEMA and meet their obligations through an individual or collective compliance scheme or a producer responsibility organisation. Importers also need a certificate for clearance. The obligations reach beyond fees to design for recyclability, consumer information and annual reporting, so brand owners and importers need packaging data by product.
Who is in scope
- Producers of products in the First Schedule, including packaging for non-hazardous and hazardous products (reg. 4)
- Producer categories named in the forms: manufacturer, importer, refiller, repackager, rebrander, brand owner and converter
- Individual and collective compliance schemes and PROs (regs. 9 to 11)
Who is not
- No exemptions are stated; reg. 8(3) says the absence of a compliance scheme does not exempt a producer
What to do and by when
- NowCheck registration status; existing producers had six months from 4 November 2024 to apply.
- NowMap all packaging and products placed on the Kenyan market against the First Schedule.
- NowReview membership of a collective scheme or PRO; switching is only possible at the start of a contract year with three months' notice.
- 31 January each yearPrepare data for the annual report on the preceding year.
Related rules
- PR-KE-001 Ban on plastic carrier bags and flat bags
Same jurisdiction: plastic carrier bag ban, with exemptions conditioned on take-back or EPR. - PR-ZA-001 Extended Producer Responsibility Regulations and paper and packaging scheme
South Africa's EPR regulations, a regional comparator using PROs. - PR-VN-001 Decree 110/2026/ND-CP on producer and importer recycling and waste treatment responsibility
Viet Nam EPR decree, another recent national framework. - PR-GB-002 UK packaging EPR regulations (pEPR) 2024
UK packaging EPR with registration and reporting duties.
Where the record is unclear
- The regulations set no numerical targets and refer to national targets not reviewed here.
- The First Schedule lists a fee of KSh 150 per item; how it is applied in practice was not clear from the text.
Sources for this note
- Kenya Law: L.N. 176 of 2024, Sustainable Waste Management (Extended Producer Responsibility) Regulations, 2024 (as at 24 March 2025) Consulted 13 October 2026
Note written by the SPI team on 13 October 2026.
Where it sits in the tracker
- One of 2 packaging rules we track in Kenya, of which 1 are EPR rules.
- In all, 25 EPR rules are tracked across 15 jurisdictions. Compare them below
Company profiles that map to this rule
Companies whose SPI profile lists this rule in its regulatory exposure, based on where they report selling. Not company-reported.
Change history
Verified: a second SPI team member re-checked every fact above against the source on 13 October 2026. Any later change to the facts sends the rule back to Sourced and is logged here.
Verified by a second SPI team member
Changed: rate note, quote
Added to the tracker
Spotted an error? Write to sales@strategicpackaginginsights.com quoting PR-KE-002 and the source. Corrections are logged in this history.
EPR rules elsewhere
The same type of rule for the same materials in other jurisdictions, by the date it applies.
Ask the SPI team
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- Q1
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- Q2
What could EPR fees and plastic taxes cost us next year?
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- Q3
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