Experiences and Challenges of Plastic Waste Collectors in Kenya; A Qualitative Study Among Informal Waste Collectors in Kisumu City, Kenya, 2023

This qualitative data set comprises transcripts from focus group discussions with informal collectors of plastic and general waste in Kisumu, Kenya. The study aims to determine the extent to which informal waste collectors facilitate waste separation and recycling in off-grid neighborhoods in Kisumu. It also aimed to assess the impact of recycled plastic prices and international policy initiatives on businesses in the water sachet recycling chain in Kisumu as well as other barriers to informal waste collector businesses. A similar set of FGDs with waste collectors in Greater Accra, Ghana, is archived separately. Specialist plastic waste collection businesses are almost non-existent in Kisumu, so the study recruited general (mixed) waste collectors at different points in the supply chain via a grassroots waste collectors’ association. A total sample of 32 collectors were identified via this route within Kisumu City. These were segmented into three broad groups: a) Waste Pickers, b) Intermediate Traders and finally, c) Apex Traders. The Waste Pickers were defined as informal enterprises that mostly pick wastes directly from the waste generation sites such as households, streets, or waste dumps. The intermediate Traders were defined as the relatively more formal enterprises collecting waste from the pickers, carrying out some level of processing and selling the processed waste to apex traders. The Apex traders were then defined as the more formal enterprises purchasing the wastes from the intermediate enterprises and then selling the waste to recycling industries, mostly located in Nairobi. Two focus group discussions were held with two groups of waste pickers and two groups of intermediate traders, with a single small group discussion then held with two apex traders. Focus and small group discussions consisted of open-ended questions on business establishment, business history, waste collection operations, and enablers and barriers to waste collection.