Kenya launches National Plastics Action platform to drive circular economy shift

Kenya has launched the Kenya National Plastics Action Partnership (NPAP Kenya), a national platform designed to coordinate action on plastic waste, scale circular economy solutions, attract investments and accelerate green industrialisation.

The government said the platform will anchor the country’s transition to a circular plastics economy while strengthening its leadership in global environmental diplomacy.

The initiative, unveiled in Nairobi, is jointly established by the Ministry of Foreign and Diaspora Affairs and the World Economic Forum’s Global Plastic Action Partnership.

The platform brings together government ministries, private sector players, civil society groups, academia, innovators and development partners under one framework to advance solutions to plastic pollution and support community-level waste systems.

Speaking during the launch, Foreign Affairs Principal Secretary Korir Sing’oei said the platform comes at a critical moment for Kenya and the world.

“The plastics crisis is global, urgent and escalating. Kenya believes that solutions must be coordinated, science-driven and inclusive,” he said.

“NPAP Kenya provides exactly that: a unified framework that aligns national action with regional ambition and global negotiations, while creating new economic opportunities for our people.”

The platform is designed to harmonise Kenya’s plastics strategy with regional and international frameworks such as the ongoing UN Global Plastics Treaty negotiations, the East African Single-Use Plastics Bill and Kenya’s Green Industrialisation Strategy.

Kenya has previously taken bold action on plastics, including the 2017 ban on plastic carrier bags—one of the strictest in the world—and the 2020 ban on single-use plastics in protected areas.

Sing’oei said the platform builds on these milestones by shifting the country from prohibitions to a comprehensive circular model.

“We must move from seeing plastics purely as waste to recognising them as materials that can be redesigned, reused, recycled and responsibly managed,” he said.

“This transition is not only good for the environment, it is good for jobs, industries and Kenya’s position in green global value chains.”

Citing the 2025 ‘Breaking the Plastic Wave report, he said that 130 million tonnes of plastic enter the environment annually—a figure expected to double by 2040 without aggressive action.

The report shows pollution could be reduced by up to 83 per cent under a system-wide transformation.

“It is this possibility—this opportunity for meaningful, measurable impact—that Kenya seeks to seize,” he said.

Officials say NPAP Kenya will also strengthen Kenya’s diplomatic influence.

As a leading African voice in global plastics treaty talks and a champion of regional alignment through the EAC SUP Bill, Kenya aims to leverage the platform to advance climate diplomacy and attract green investment.

“Environmental diplomacy is increasingly economic diplomacy,” Sing’oei said. “As global markets adopt green compliance rules, countries that innovate early will thrive. NPAP Kenya positions Kenya to do just that.”

Global Plastic Action Partnership director Clémence Schmid said Kenya’s leadership makes it a natural addition to the global NPAP network, which includes Indonesia, Vietnam, Ghana and Nigeria.

For years, Kenya’s plastics agenda has been fragmented across counties, regulators, private companies and waste operators.

NPAP Kenya is expected to provide a central coordination mechanism for data, policy implementation, recycling systems and investment mobilisation.

The platform will operate around four pillars. They are national coordination across ministries, private sector and civil society and the green industrialisation support, including circular manufacturing and recycling.

Others are jobs and social impact, with emphasis on informal waste workers, youth and women and the South–South and Pan-African diplomacy to bolster Kenya’s regional leadership.

“These pillars reflect Kenya’s belief that environmental action must uplift people, communities and industries,” Sing’oei said. “A just transition is the only viable transition.”

He added that Nairobi’s role as host of Unep and other global environmental agencies positions Kenya as a natural hub for circular economy initiatives.

As the launch concluded, Sing’oei reaffirmed the government’s resolve: “Our vision is clear—an economy where plastics do not become pollution, where green industries thrive, and where Kenya helps steer the world toward a more sustainable future. NPAP Kenya is a decisive step toward that future.”