Waste Wise Nairobi: Korogocho’s First Material Recovery Facility
Nairobi generates about 3,085 tonnes of waste every day. Roughly 65% is collected and only about 15% is recovered; most of the rest ends up in open dumpsites, with real costs for public health and the climate. In Korogocho, a community-driven answer has now opened its doors.
Under the Waste Wise Nairobi – Korogocho Chapter, MKK partnered with UN-Habitat, AICS (Italian Agency for Development Cooperation), AVSI Foundation, Nairobi City County and the Kenya Climate Innovation Centre (KCIC). The approach was deliberately community-led: local community-based organizations were validated and trained to run it, households were asked how they actually deal with their waste, and a construction committee, elected by the community itself, oversaw the build
Ground broke on March 12, 2025. In March 2026, the facility was officially launched as the first of its kind in an informal settlement in Nairobi.
Waste In, Opportunity Out
The Material Recovery Facility is a decentralized hub where dry recyclables are sorted and sold on to recycling companies. That creates income for CBOs and local waste workers, many of them young people and women, while keeping waste out of dumpsites and cutting methane from unmanaged waste. Nairobi City County has committed to providing balers to add value to recycled materials and to linking the CBOs to markets.
30
CBOs validated and trained
1,500
Households surveyed
4,500
Residents served daily
Built for Us, by Us
The facility was shaped by the people who will use it every day, from the households surveyed to the committee the community elected itself. At the groundbreaking, one of the local organizations behind it explained what that means.
I’m happy the community around here will have a place to sort waste.
