PAKPRO, Kenya scouts launch recycling programme in schools

KENYA – PAKPRO has partnered with the Kenya Scouts Association to advance environmental education and packaging recovery in schools, launching the TUWEZESHE programme with 600 recycling bins across 150 institutions nationwide.

The Packaging Producer Responsibility Organisation and the Kenya Scouts Association signed the agreement to promote waste segregation, recycling and packaging recovery among young people. 

The programme will draw on the scouts’ extensive youth network to encourage environmental stewardship in schools and communities, creating practical opportunities for learners to participate in recovery activities. 

Joyce Gachugi-Waweru, chief executive of PAKPRO, said the partnership was important because it provided access to more than 200,000 schools within the Kenya Scouts Association network.

Programme Targets Cultural Shift in Waste Management

Gachugi-Waweru observed that Kenya had a disposal culture skewed toward discarding materials rather than valuing them as resources. 

She noted that the scouts possessed the power to shift culture and create a mindset in society that valued waste. 

She added that people tended to view young people as consumers rather than net contributors, yet within the next 20 years they would have what it took to reshape societal attitudes toward waste. 

She further remarked that habits and values developed early in life could stay with individuals for years, making a culture shift from current irresponsible practices important.

Segregated Collection Points to Serve Learners

The partnership will establish dedicated segregated collection points for recyclable materials.

PAKPRO will support the placement of 600 recycling bins in 150 schools nationally, providing learners and school communities with accessible infrastructure to separate and recover packaging materials. 

For learners, this is expected to create a direct connection between environmental education and daily practice. 

The initiative also includes a quarterly take-back programme focused on paper and cartons, materials commonly generated through school activities including used exercise books, examination papers and packaging.

Integration into Daily School Life

Rather than treating recycling as a one-off activity, the programme seeks to embed waste segregation into everyday school life. 

Teachers and school administrators often store these materials, preventing optimised use of their space. 

The programme aims to evacuate these readily recyclable materials before they are channelled back into productive use. 

By combining infrastructure, education and recurring collection, the initiative positions schools as ongoing contributors to Kenya’s packaging recovery system rather than isolated participants in occasional clean-up efforts.

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