Get a NEMA licence to run a waste recycling, treatment, transfer or disposal facility
National Environment Management Authority · sources read 3 Oct 2026
Apply online to NEMA and pay a KSh 5,000 application fee plus an annual licence fee: KSh 80,000 for recycling, treatment, storage, transfer or material recovery facilities, or KSh 100,000 for disposal sites such as landfills and incinerators. NEMA decides within 10 working days and the licence must be renewed every year.
- Fee
- KSh 5,000Application feeKSh 80,000Annual licence: treatment, re-use or recycling plant, storage yard, transfer station or material recovery facilityKSh 100,000Annual licence: waste disposal site (incinerator, landfill, waste-to-energy, deep burial)
- How long
- Decision within 10 working days
- Where
- Online on the NEMA licensing portal
What you need
- Application in Form IV: location and GPS coordinates, technology used, types of waste, installed capacity and site plan
- Executive summary of the environmental impact statement
- Your EIA licence number
Steps
- Apply online on the NEMA licensing portal for a licence to own or operate the facility.
- Give the Form IV details of the site and attach the required documents, including your EIA details.
- Pay the KSh 5,000 application fee and the annual licence fee for your type of facility.
- NEMA issues the licence, rejects the application or asks for more information within 10 working days.
Watch out
- The licence lasts one year and must be renewed every year.
- This licence does not replace other licences or approvals you need to run the site.
- You must keep accurate records of the site and send annual reports to NEMA.
Who can apply
- Anyone who owns or runs a waste storage, processing, treatment or disposal facility: recycling or composting plants, transfer stations, storage yards, material recovery facilities, incinerators, landfills, waste-to-energy plants or deep burial sites.
Official sources (5)
- Waste Management in Kenya: Simplified Waste Management Regulations, 2024 (brochure) nema.go.ke · read 3 Oct 2026
- NEMA Service Charter 2025-2027 (booklet) nema.go.ke · read 3 Oct 2026
- Public notice: Waste Management Regulations (13 January 2025) nema.go.ke · read 3 Oct 2026
- EMC (Waste Management) Regulations, 2024 (L.N. 178 of 2024) nema.go.ke · read 3 Oct 2026
- NEMA Customer Service Delivery Charter 2025-2027 nema.go.ke · read 3 Oct 2026