Nairobi, Kenya |Tuesday, 8th September 2026 – The Packaging Producer Responsibility Organisation (PAKPRO) and the Kenya Scouts Association (KSA) today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to advance environmental education, waste segregation and packaging recovery among young people and schools across Kenya.
The partnership marks the official launch of the TUWEZESHE program – PAKPRO’s environmental education and awareness programme designed to equip young people with the knowledge, skills and practical tools to make sustainable waste management part of everyday life.
Through the partnership, PAKPRO and KSA will leverage the Scouts’ extensive youth network to promote environmental stewardship in schools and communities, while creating practical opportunities for learners to participate in waste segregation, recycling and packaging recovery.
“Tuwezeshe is about giving training to young minds early to shift behaviour change positively within society around waste management,” said PAKPRO Chief Executive Officer, Joyce Gachugi-Waweru.
“This partnership is important for us as it gives us access to more than 200,000 schools within the Kenya Scouts Association. We know we have a disposal culture, as our culture is skewed in Kenya. We recognise the power of the KSA team to shift cultural power to create a mindset in society that values waste. People tend to look at young children like others; they are consumers and not net contributors, but in the next 20 years, they will determine whether we have a clean country. We know that the habits and values we develop early in life can stay with us for years. Hence, a culture shift from the current irresponsible nature we experience today in the larger society will be important. Through our partnership with the Kenya Scouts Association, we are bringing environmental education into schools and allowing learners to turn knowledge into action and become environmental champions in their schools, homes and communities.”
From Environmental education to Action
A key component of the Tuwezeshe programme will be Adopt-a-Bin, PAKPRO’s packaging recovery initiative, which will provide dedicated segregated collection points for recyclable materials. As part of the programme, PAKPRO will support the placement of a total of 600 segregated recycling bins in 150 schools nationally, providing learners and school communities with accessible infrastructure to separate and recover packaging
materials. For learners, this creates a direct connection between what they learn about the environment and what they do on a day to day. Additionally, the Tuwezeshe program initiative will undertake a quarterly take-back program focused on paper and cartons, materials commonly generated through day-to-day school activities, including used exercise books, examination papers and packaging.
Rather than treating recycling as a one-off activity, the programme seeks to integrate waste segregation into everyday school life. Teachers and school administrators often store these materials, which prevents optimised use of their space. This programme seeks to evacuate these readily recycled materials through PAKPRO’s recovery network and channel them back into productive use.
The Kenya Scouts Association will play an important role in mobilising young people and supporting environmental activities within schools and communities.
“Scouting has always been about equipping young people with the values, skills and confidence to make a positive contribution to society,” said Hon. Victor Radido, Chief Commissioner, Kenya Scouts Association.
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“Through this partnership with PAKPRO, we are giving our young people an opportunity to take practical
action on an issue that affects their schools, homes and communities. Tuwezeshe provides an important platform for our Scouts to lead by example and champion responsible waste management.”
Building a culture of responsible waste management
The partnership comes at a time when Kenya is strengthening its approach to sustainable waste management and implementing the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) Regulations, 2024.
For PAKPRO, environmental education is an important part of building a sustainable packaging recovery system. While EPR establishes responsibility for packaging beyond the point of sale, lasting impact depends on consumers and communities understanding how to properly separate, handle and recover packaging.
Mr. Moses Danda, National Executive Commissioner, Kenya Scouts Association, said: Through our network of Scouts, we want to put effort into attitude change of young people beyond knowledge on environmental protection lessons beyond the classroom and into homes and communities. By giving young people access to opportunities to participate in waste recovery, separation of waste, we help them understand the value of the materials they use every day. This partnership is an important step towards duty to self, duty to others in environmental care.”
Through Tuwezeshe, PAKPRO aims to reach young people at an early stage and build comprehension that packaging is a resource, especially when it is kept clean, separated and recovered. The launch will see the unveiling of the first Adopt-a-Bin recycling station, symbolising the beginning of a wider programme that seeks to make schools centres of environmental learning and practical action.
An opportunity for wider partnerships The Tuwezeshe and Adopt-a-Bin programmes also provide an opportunity for corporates, institutions and other partners to support environmental education and packaging recovery in schools. Through sponsorship and partnerships, organizations can support the installation of segregated recycling stations, environmental education activities and material recovery, strengthen their ESG impact by creating visible and measurable environmental and social impact at community level.
By combining PAKPRO’s expertise in Extended Producer Responsibility, packaging recovery and the circular economy with KSA’s national youth network and community reach, the partnership seeks to demonstrate that environmental action can begin in the classroom and extend into homes and communities.Together, PAKPRO and the Kenya Scouts Association are calling on schools, learners, teachers, parents, communities and partners to make waste segregation and recycling part of everyday life.
Tuwezeshe is about more than teaching young people about the environment. It is about allowing them to act.
