Effective Solid Waste Management (SWM) in Kenya is a major challenge facing responsible Local
Authorities (LAs) across the country. The challenge is more serious in urban centres, where solid waste
generation rate outstrips the ability of LAs to manage the same effectively. In Nakuru town, the fourth
largest urban centre in Kenya, daily solid waste generation is approximated at 250 tonnes. Before
changes were introduced in 2006, the average daily collection rate was less than 30%. To resolve this
challenge on domestic solid waste handling, the Municipal Council of Nakuru (MCN) enacted 2006
Nakuru Environmental Management by-laws that paved the way for decentralized service delivery of
domestic solid waste management. This article outlines the legal changes that were made, and the
opportunities it has opened for both cleaning up the town and generating incomes for small private waste
entrepreneurs and community-based groups. It includes a case study of a successful community-based
waste enterprise. It ends by highlighting some of the remaining challenges
