Kisii, Kenya 8 November 2017—A group of youths from Kisii County in Western Kenya who have benefitted from trainings by UN-Habitat and partners were part of the exhibitors at a trade fair held in the town recently.

The fair that was organised in collaboration with national government agencies saw the youth exhibit and sell products such as lamp shades, baskets, key holders and kitchen ware such as knife handles and cups.

On his part Hon Moses Onderi, the County Minister for Environment had this to say “ I am committed to support the creation of directorate of SWM in Kisii. Creating institutional organization in managing SW is my priority.”

Waste management challenges in Kisii town are mainly attributed to the increasing amount of solid waste induced by the rapid urbanization. The waste generated litters the streets and clogs urban drainage system. The absence of a designated landfill has worsened the situation since waste generated within the urban areas is disposed on private land. The unemployment level in Kisii County is estimated at about 61 percent of which the majority is the youth.

UN-Habitat has partnered with the County Government and as a result, a plastic recycling workshop has been constructed in the town on land allocated by the County government. Unemployed Youth have been identified and trained on assembling and operating a plastic recycling machine. The machine is fabricated from locally available materials and the maintenance, purchase and replacement of parts will be easy. A Representative of Business Community in Kisii Ms. Shamji had this to say about the project “I am excited about the idea of plastic recycling since she has had the idea for a long time.”