Scaling Resource Efficiency and Cleaner Production (RECP) in the Nairobi Rivers Basin
- Last updated on 20 September 2024
Background Information
The Kenya National Cleaner Production Centre (KNCPC) is leading this Nairobi-based project which is designed to pilot solutions for water pollution caused by the discharge of untreated/poorly treated industrial effluent by multiple industry types. The project falls under the umbrella of the Nairobi Rivers Basin Commission, an initiative to reclaim the rivers of Nairobi as a spine to the city’s blue and green infrastructure for a better urban environment and quality of life.
From experience, KNCPC understands that manufacturers struggle to adopt progressive improvements and investments into cleaner infrastructure for a range of reasons – poor organisational capacity, lack understanding the most suitable technology to address hier needs, and low understanding of the long-term commercial benefits. The challenge of limited information and understanding of the commercial business case is shared by the financial sector, with the result that financing is not readily available for required investments in Resource Efficiency and Cleaner Production (RECP).
The project kicked off with a scoping exercise to map the most urgent water pollution challenges and the priorities in the basin. Priority industries were invited to work alongside the project, specifically to receive support from KNCPC in the form of site evaluations, recommendations on RECP interventions and staff training on these practices. The KNCPC aims to work with up to 100 manufacturers for RECP training and audits. Sites are audited for specific infrastructure investments and an assessment is made on what type of financing solutions are suitable and what investment readiness interventions may be required to support this. The project partner, Fintech Frontiers, will be developing a case for the return on investment and facilitate engagement with financial partners. By bringing finance providers on board and providing specific training to investors on the business case for cleaner production investments, the project seeks to address a significant barrier to physical investments in pollution abatement. With better information on the water pollution situation in the Nairobi Rivers, the project will also bring policymakers into the discussion to address policy incentives and better regulatory control.
The broad scale work is paired with targeted wastewater treatment interventions at three pilot sites. This pilot sites will be used to build case studies and as demonstration sites that will illustrate environmental compliance benefits and the long-term financial benefits of circular water use and greater resource efficiency. The wastewater case studies will be used alongside the broader campaign to implement RECP practices amongst the heaviest polluting industries in the NRB and to show the potential for large-scale environmental improvements in the water quality of the Nairobi Rivers.
The pilot supports the delivery of the Industrial Pollution Control outcomes of the Nairobi Rivers Commission (NRC), launched by President William Ruto in February 2023.
Updates
Industry Mapping: The project has identified 224 industries operating along the Nairobi Rivers Basin which runs across 5 counties – Kajiado, Kiambu, Machakos, Makueni and Nairobi. Partnership agreements have been signed with 21 of these industries.
The project has ongoing engagement with various stakeholders to identify priority sectors and industries for sampling. These include the National Environmental Management Body, Nairobi Rivers Commission, Water Resource Authority, Kenya Association of Manufacturers, Kenya Private Sector Alliance, and respective county governments, and water and sewerage companies.
Wastewater Analysis: Sampling and analysis of wastewater from 121 industries were conducted, revealing significant pollution loads. Most of these industries are located in Nairobi and fall under 4 sub-sectors, namely food processing, pharmaceutical, abattoir and chemical. The key findings from the sampling exercise are summarised below:
- 100 of these industries have waste water treatment plants installed;
- 85 are connected to the public sewer
- 9 are sewerage handling companies
- 74 are compliant with NEMA BOD limit of 500 mg/l
- 54 are compliant with the NEMA COD limit of 1000 mg/l
- The estimated pollution levels are 130,718 tonnes/year for Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD) and 1,809,295 tonnes/year for Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD).
Pilot Treatment Plant: the first pilot wastewater treatment plant is fully operational at Ultravetis East Africa Ltd, a pharmaceutical, animal health company operating in the Nairobi county. Since the successful installation of the wastewater treatment plant, suspended and organic pollutants from the manufacturing processes have been significantly reduced from the Ultravetis East Africa Ltd wastewater stream. Treated wastewater is now compliant with NEMA’s Fifth Schedule Standards (Sewer Discharge) and is being reused for non-critical processes (cleaning, toilets). The installation of the waste water treatment plant at the second pilot site, Supra Textiles, is ongoing.
Training: Preparations are underway for training up to 100 industries on cleaner production techniques and wastewater treatment. The project aims to ensure that at least 30% of the trainees are women. The training will be completed by end of September 2024.
Financial advisory: The development of financial models to advise on policy and incentives for cleaner technologies are underway.
Connect with KNCPC
Websites
Timeframe
Status
Countries of Implementation
Consortium Partners
Showcase Resources
Preliminary results of Effluent Treatment Plant at Utlravetis East Africa Ltd
Report of the initial stakeholders’ consultative meeting held at Eka Hotel, Nairobi City County: Stakeholder Engagement Report