Mitigating environmental and regulatory challenges posed by e-waste: an analysis of legislation’s safeguarding against electronic waste pollution

Abstract

There has been a major increase in the presence of technology not only in Kenya but the world. It has led to the revolution of various people’s lives creating a large impact. An example of this is the smartphone which has made it easier to access various sectors such as the banking sector, health, and media. Due to this, there is a large market for the consumption of such goods. However, the question we should ask ourselves as the consumers of such goods is after we dispose of them and mark them as waste how is it managed? What governmental organization deals with the management of this electronic waste? and what statutory legislation deals with this waste? The current legislation, The Environmental Management and Coordination Act 1999 (EMCA), that Kenya relies on to deal with waste management does not provide for electronic waste and only slightly hints at it through other provisions. The purpose of this proposal is to highlight the inconsistency in statutory provisions when it comes to e-waste management. The research will employ the use of doctrinal legal research by studying the statutory provisions of other countries regarding the management of e-waste and specifically pinpointing the statutes that may be applied in Kenya to mitigate the problem. The topic of research is important as it will help bring up creative solutions for the problem of e-waste management that may be employed by various legislators.