Recovery & Recycling Programme
Accelerating Kenya's recycling economy — connecting collectors, aggregators, transporters and recyclers through transparent, verified subsidies.
This page summarises KEPRO's public Recovery & Recycling programme. For the full, current terms and the official application form, see the KEPRO website.
View on kepro.co.keAn entire value chain
Recovering packaging waste at scale takes the whole value chain working together — waste collectors, aggregators, transporters and recyclers — each verified and paid for the volumes they move, advancing Kenya's Zero Waste and circular-economy goals.
The recovery journey
Three phases turn collected packaging waste into new products.
Collection, aggregation, baling and sorting at the source.
Grinding, washing, agglomeration and granulation.
Transformation of processed material into new products.
Programme impact
Metric tonnes of packaging waste recovered or recycled
Distributed to the recycling ecosystem
Value-chain representatives trained
Figures published on KEPRO's programme page — not a live feed from this platform.
Who can take part
Five categories of waste-chain actor are eligible to apply, each with its own conditions.
Process secondary materials into new raw material or products.
Handle flexible plastic laminates that cannot otherwise be recycled.
Consolidate materials from collectors ahead of processing.
Move eligible materials between value-chain actors.
Collect eligible materials, subject to a minimum monthly volume.
Each category has its own documentation requirements (KRA PIN, business permit, relevant licences). See the official programme page for the full list.
Requirements by waste value chain actor
Each category has its own eligibility conditions and required documents for the September–December 2026 contracting framework.
- Subsidies are based on verified sales of secondary raw materials or recycled products.
- Rates are adjusted relative to previous volumes handled.
- Must purchase from at least one KEPRO-contracted aggregator to remain eligible.
- Certificate of Incorporation or Registration
- KRA PIN Certificate
- Tax Compliance Certificate
- Business Permit
- EIA Licence
- Recent NEMA Annual Audit
- Recycling Licence
- CR12 (where applicable)
- Engagement applies only to flexible plastic laminates sourced from a contracted aggregator.
- Must demonstrate receipt and incineration of material from that aggregator.
- A Destruction Certificate is required before payment.
- Certificate of Incorporation or Registration
- KRA PIN Certificate
- Tax Compliance Certificate
- Business Permit
- Licence to Own/Operate a Waste Treatment Plant or Disposal Site
- EIA Licence
- Recent NEMA Annual Audit
- CR12 (where applicable)
- Subsidised at KES 0.50 per kg for paper & carton, metals, rigid plastics and other approved non-primary categories.
- Exclusive agreement with KEPRO for the recovered packaging waste they handle.
- Must keep a database of collectors and monthly volume summaries by material.
- Certificate of Incorporation or Registration
- KRA PIN Certificate
- Tax Compliance Certificate
- Business Permit
- EIA Licence
- Recent NEMA Annual Audit
- Operating Licence
- CR12 (where applicable)
- Requires a NEMA Transport Licence and a County Transport Licence.
- No minimum tonnage — every verified movement counts toward the subsidy.
- Compensated through the contracted aggregator or recycler they transport for.
- NEMA Transport Licence
- County Transport Licence
- Vehicle registration details
- Geo-tagged loading photographs
- Geo-tagged offloading photographs
- Mileage records
- Weighbridge receipts
- Delivery notes and invoices
- Minimum 500 kg per material fraction, per month.
- Open to individual collectors, CBOs, private waste service providers, agents and buy-back centres.
- Paid on verified sales volumes and the aggregator's purchase records.
- County Waste Collection Authorisation and Business Permit
- Certificate of Incorporation/Registration, National ID, or CBO Registration Certificate
- Valid bank account details
How the subsidy works
- 1Verified transactions
The subsidy is linked to transactions verified through the KEPRO Waste Management System — not self-reported volumes.
- 2Monthly digital reporting
Actors report volumes digitally by the 5th of each month; KEPRO reviews and approves within 15 days.
- 3Spot checks & site visits
KEPRO verifies reported volumes through spot checks and site visits.
- 4Invoice within 10 days
Once a report is approved, the actor submits their invoice within 10 days.
- 5Payment within 30 days
Approved payments are made within 30 days of invoice submission.
Subsidies apply only to vertical value-chain transactions — collector to aggregator, aggregator to recycler, and so on — never to horizontal exchanges between actors of the same type.
2026 subsidy rates
Approved rates (KES per kg) cover plastics, paper, glass and metals. The subsidy is allocated 30% to recyclers, 25% to aggregators, 30% to waste collectors and 15% to transporters.
Support beyond the subsidy
- Performance-based financial incentives
- Capacity building and training
- Market linkages
- Policy advocacy
- Infrastructure development
- Pathways to financial assistance
Challenges the ecosystem is working through
- Consumer awareness and participation
- Material contamination
- Collection infrastructure gaps
- Stakeholder collaboration
Ready to apply?
Expression of Interest applications are submitted through KEPRO's official programme page.