Harnessing Innovation to Address Waste Management
Waste management is emerging as a growing challenge in Kenya, driven by increasing waste generation and gaps in sustainable waste-handling practices. Addressing the menace requires innovative approaches that turn waste into valuable resources while equipping students and young innovators with the skills to develop practical, locally relevant responses. Against this backdrop, Jomo Kenyatta University of…
Students engage a hotel industry stakeholder to collect data on waste management practices.
Waste management is emerging as a growing challenge in Kenya, driven by increasing waste generation and gaps in sustainable waste-handling practices. Addressing the menace requires innovative approaches that turn waste into valuable resources while equipping students and young innovators with the skills to develop practical, locally relevant responses.
Against this backdrop, Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT), in collaboration with Nürtingen-Geislingen University (HfWU) in Germany, has secured a prestigious Erasmus+ International Mobility Programme Grant to strengthen knowledge and skills exchange between the two institutions.
Implemented through the Department of Landscape Architecture, the grant supports student and staff exchanges, providing participants with opportunities to gain new perspectives, strengthen professional skills and develop innovative approaches to shared societal and environmental challenges, including waste management.
Acting Principal, College of Engineering and Technology (COETEC), Dr. Eng. Charles Kabubo addresses participants during the workshop.
As part of the grant activities, the Department is hosting a one-week Social Innovation Workshop from 21-26, September 2026 at the Innovation and Prototyping and Incubation Centre (IPiC), JKUAT Main Campus. The workshop also includes field visits within Juja Ward, giving participants first-hand insights into the waste management challenges affecting local communities.
Held under the theme “Waste as a Catalyst of Change,” the workshop focuses on developing social innovation prototypes to address liquid and solid waste challenges in Juja Ward, particularly in Juja Town and its environs.
Speaking during the official opening of the workshop, Acting Principal, College of Engineering and Technology (COETEC), Dr. Eng. Charles Kabubo, underscored the need for innovative and sustainable approaches to addressing the country’s growing waste management challenge.
Dr. Denis Karanja from Department of Landscape Architecture leads one of the teams in mapping data collection points on a map of Juja Ward.
He noted that universities have an important role to play in nurturing students to develop practical responses to environmental challenges affecting communities.
“We are at a time when waste is creating serious environmental and social challenges in our communities. There is therefore a need to rethink how we manage waste and, more importantly, encourage our students to develop innovative solutions that can transform waste from a challenge into an opportunity,” said Dr. Kabubo.
Dr. Kabubo further emphasised the importance of developing not only innovative solutions, but also tailor-made approaches that respond to the specific waste management needs and circumstances of different communities. He noted that solutions should be informed by local realities to ensure they are practical, relevant and sustainable.
Dr. Ing. Ellen Fetze, Programme Coordinator, Erasmus Programme.
Dr. Ing. Ellen Fetze, Programme Coordinator, Erasmus Programme, said the initiative provides an important platform for students and staff to exchange knowledge, share experiences and develop innovative responses to pressing environmental challenges.
She noted that the workshop offers an opportunity to connect academic knowledge with community realities while strengthening collaboration and learning between JKUAT and its international partners.
“The programme, now in its 10th year, seeks to support students in nurturing their innovative potential and developing solutions to challenges affecting communities. Through initiatives such as this workshop, students are given an opportunity to apply their knowledge, engage with real-world challenges and develop solutions that can make a meaningful difference,” said Dr. Fetze.
(Far right) Dr. Mercy Dindi, Acting Dean, School of Architecture and Building Sciences (SABS), and Dr. Stella Mbiti, Chair of the Department of Landscape Architecture, follow the proceedings.
Chair of the Department of Landscape Architecture, Dr. Stella Mbiti, urged students to harness their innovative potential and develop commercially viable responses to real-world waste management challenges. She encouraged them to go beyond generating ideas and focus on innovations that can be translated into practical solutions with potential for adoption and commercialisation.
L. Arch. Sylvia Mutua, Coordinator, JKUAT/HfWU EU Erasmus+ International Mobility Grant, said the workshop provides an important platform for students and faculty to exchange knowledge and develop practical solutions to waste management challenges.
Speaking during a panel discussion, Ephantus Kungu, Project Officer at Akiba Mashinani Trust, highlighted several bottlenecks hindering effective waste management, including knowledge gaps among communities, limited awareness of proper waste-handling practices and challenges in translating available knowledge into practical action.
He emphasised the need for approaches that strengthen community awareness and participation while promoting locally relevant responses to waste management challenges.
The workshop brings together 35 undergraduate students and 20 faculty members from HfWU, the University of Lagos and JKUAT, who will collaboratively develop social innovation prototypes to address identified waste management challenges. The prototypes will be tested in the community to assess their effectiveness and potential for practical application.
Participants in the Social Innovation Workshop pose for a commemorative photo after the first day of the workshop.