Waste Management Licence Fees / Charges

Waste management licensing in Kenya covers a family of related NEMA authorisations: transporting waste, operating treatment or recovery facilities, running disposal sites, and exporting or transiting waste across borders. Each carries its own fee structure.

Fee Summary Table

Activity	Application Fee	Annual Licence / Permit Fee
Waste transportation (per vehicle)	Ksh. 5,000	Ksh. 10,000
Waste treatment / re-use plant / storage yard / transfer station / material recovery facility	Ksh. 5,000	Ksh. 80,000
Waste disposal site	Ksh. 5,000	Ksh. 100,000
Waste export / transit permit	Ksh. 5,000	Ksh. 50,000 (permit fee)

Source: NEMA's Customer Service Delivery Charter, 2025–2027.

Processing Timelines

All four categories above are processed within 10 working days of a complete application submitted through the NEMA licensing portal.

Choosing the Right Category

Because "waste management licence" covers several distinct activities, the first step is identifying exactly which licence your operation needs — a transporter moving waste between sites pays per vehicle, while a facility operator pays a flat annual fee regardless of fleet size. Mixing these up at application stage is a common cause of delay. Waste management fees scale with the environmental risk and scope of the activity — transportation is the cheapest tier, disposal sites the most expensive. Whichever category applies to you, the application fee is a flat Ksh. 5,000 across the board, so the real cost difference shows up in the annual licence fee.

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