Regulations that will compel manufacturers in Kenya to bear extended responsibility for pollution in the entire life cycle of products are timely.
Producers will be required to take care of their waste from the time of product design to the market.
They will also be expected to register with the National Environment Management Authority (Nema), raise awareness on the management of products that they introduce in the market, and carry out product life cycle assessments for enhancing environmental sustainability among other obligations.
The plans to be adopted by May will go a long way in protecting the environment. Poor waste management has immensely contributed to air pollution and directly affected different ecosystems and species.
Poor disposal of garbage has increased methane levels, a powerful greenhouse gas linked to climate change. The garbage now finds itself in rivers and oceans.
But one thing the regulator has to be cautious of is not to discourage investments in sectors that generate a lot of waste by slapping them with harsher penalties.
The government also ought to give incentives to those that create wealth from the waste.
