Setting the stage for the circular economy

The report inventories organic waste in Naivasha, Kenya, identifying significant potential for resource recovery from wastewater, faecal sludge, municipal solid waste, and agro-industrial residues. It highlights existing initiatives such as biogas production at Gorge Farm Energy Park and briquette manufacturing by Sanivation, while noting critical data gaps and stakeholder conflicts in waste collection.

• Naivasha faces significant sanitation challenges, with 78% of excreta ending up untreated and disposed in the environment.
• The NAIVAWASCO wastewater treatment plant is operating beyond its intended capacity, leading to low treatment efficiency and a backlog of sludge during rainy seasons. It processes up to 80,000 m3 of wastewater per month.
• Approximately 84% of the population in Naivasha relies on on-site sanitation, and about 72% of these systems are never emptied.
• Sanivation operates a circular economy model in Naivasha, converting faecal sludge and biomass into carbonized briquettes ('super balls') and non-carbonized briquettes ('super logs'). As of February 2020, over 1,600 tonnes of carbonized briquettes have been sold.
• Municipal solid waste collection in Naivasha is managed by private companies under county tenders, which has caused conflict with previous community-based waste-collection groups, leading to some areas being excluded from service.
• The Gorge Farm Energy Park, owned by BioJoule, processes approximately 21,900 tonnes of vegetable biomass annually to generate 5,000 m3 of biogas daily, which is converted into electricity and heat.
• There is a vast untapped potential for resource recovery from flower and vegetable residues in Naivasha, estimated at 14.6 million tonnes annually.
• The public slaughterhouse in Naivasha generates significant waste streams annually, including approximately 150 m3 of blood, 20 tonnes of ingesta, and 70 tonnes of hides and skins.
• A critical lack of routine data collection and archiving by sub-county authorities hinders the management of organic waste streams.

APA

Mugambi, J. K., Windberg, C., Ddiba, D., Ogol, T., Andersson, K., Gicheru, T., & Akinyi, E. (2020). Setting the stage for the circular economy. Stockholm Environment Institute. https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/2020-sei-naivasha-waste-inventory.pdf

Chicago

Mugambi, Judith Kiende, Constanze Windberg, Daniel Ddiba, Tom Ogol, Kim Andersson, Tom Gicheru, and Effie Akinyi. Setting the stage for the circular economy. Stockholm Environment Institute, 2020. https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/2020-sei-naivasha-waste-inventory.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Mugambi |first1=Judith Kiende |last2=Windberg |first2=Constanze |last3=Ddiba |first3=Daniel |last4=Ogol |first4=Tom |last5=Andersson |first5=Kim |last6=Gicheru |first6=Tom |last7=Akinyi |first7=Effie |title=Setting the stage for the circular economy |publisher=Stockholm Environment Institute |date=September 2020 |url=https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/2020-sei-naivasha-waste-inventory.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{mugambi2020setting, author = {Mugambi, Judith Kiende and Windberg, Constanze and Ddiba, Daniel and Ogol, Tom and Andersson, Kim and Gicheru, Tom and Akinyi, Effie}, title = {{Setting the stage for the circular economy}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2020}, month = sep, url = {https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/2020-sei-naivasha-waste-inventory.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }