This paper aims to benchmark performance of combined solid waste management (SWM) and recycling systems in major cities of East Africa. The Wasteaware indicators are used to present a detailed systems analysis for Kigali in Rwanda, including a mass flow diagram; comparative data are taken from the Wasteaware database for Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, Kampala, Uganda, Nairobi, Kenya, and also for neighboring Maputo, Mozambique. The stand-out result is the relatively high collection coverage achieved, in Maputo with extensive international technical assistance, and in Kigali using its own local resources. In both cases, governance factors are key. Kigali uses a public–private partnership, with exclusive franchises in 35 sectors being tendered every three years; households pay an affordable fee depending on their ability to pay (the service is free to the poorest category); and 95% fee collection rates are achieved, partly through co-collection with charges for local security patrols, which is a service people value highly given the recent history of the country. Another key priority to improve SWM across East Africa is to eliminate open dumping – only Kampala currently has an engineered disposal site. Recycling rates also need to be increased – only Nairobi currently has a good baseline to build on (30%). Common weaknesses include a lack of segregation at source, of institutional capacity, and of available and reliable waste data.

The Rwandan Government's National Domestic Biogas programme (NDBP), seeks to deliver renewable energy services to households across the country by promoting family-sized anaerobic (biogas) digesters on a large scale. The NDBP policy is implemented at different levels, from government and private contractors to households. We analysed the scheme, focusing on how policy was implemented across two districts, namely Kirehe and Kamonyi, and we interviewed rural households and biogas service providers. The NDBP delivers improved energy service outcomes to a majority of households. Training and education of householders, particularly women, is needed in relation to the maintenance of digesters, feedstock suitability and the environmental as well as the potential livelihood benefits of digestate. There is a need for appropriate implementation strategies, financial support and coordination of biogas programmes. Financial institutions and cooperatives should be involved for policy implementation.

This study assessed the current status of solid waste management (SWM) in the City of Kigali (CoK), the capital city of Rwanda. This assessment was done using systems analysis methodology of “wasteaware” benchmark indicators for integrated sustainable waste management in cities. This method of assessing helps to assess the Municipal Solid Waste Management (MSWM) in a city according to its physical components and governance features. Data were collected during a 6-month period from May to October 2017, but verification took other four months (Up to February 2018). Data were obtained from official reports, legal documents, and interviews with key personnel and operators and also from official and unofficial dumpsites visits. In CoK, approximately 232,870 tons of MSW is generated per year, MSW collection and transportation is done by private companies but the only dumpsite present in Kigali is fully controlled by the City of Kigali. Residents pay waste collectors according to their social classes and their locations. There is no official recycling system; recycling activities are informally performed by private companies and some wastes, like plastic bottles, are taken to Uganda and Tanzania to be recycled. This study found that the recycling rate was 10% contrarily to the 2% which is recorded by official sources. This study has contributed by filling the gap in literature on waste management for the city of Kigali and it recommends that the Government represented by the CoK should do more in terms of investing in SWM and creating a relationship between private waste collectors and local communities, and the private sector should be mobilized to invest in SWM activities.

This study analyzed e-waste management and capacity need assessment for both the city of Kigali and secondary cities in Rwanda. Questionnaires were used to obtain primary data. Data collected during this study have been analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS v.2020). Using qualitative and quantitative data on e-waste management, this study showed that a large number of respondents used repair and reuse (38.1%) and the main environmental concerns were found to be waste management problems (reported by 77.3% of respondents), water pollution (36.2%), and air pollution (20%), whereas regarding health effects, chronic diseases were the major concern (21.6%). Results showed a significant association between education levels and awareness and dissemination, with respect to Rwanda’s e-waste legislation and general e-waste knowledge. This study showed a need for urgency to introduce an extended producer responsibility (EPR) approach. It recommends the introduction of a disposal fee for every sale of electrical and electronic equipment (EEE).