Kenya has formulated a legal framework that will soon be signed into law to help tackle the electronic waste (e-waste) challenge, an official said on Friday.

Betty Maina, principal secretary in the Ministry of Environment and Forestry, told journalists in Nairobi that the new regulations will demand producers of electric and electronic equipment to take responsibility of end of life of their equipments and ensure its safe disposal.

"We have also developed an e-waste strategy that will provide the country with a roadmap in waste management that includes the extended producer responsibility to strengthen the polluter pay principle," Maina said.

The government official said that when electronic equipment reaches its end of life, it should be disposed properly.

"The current practice among many Kenyans is keeping of these devices at home or throwing them on the streets," she noted.

Maina said that some Kenyans eke a living through extraction of valuable items from e-waste, but throw away the other parts to the street and dumpsites where they pollute the soil and our water bodies.

"We are worried about this trend since there is a lot of environmental pollution from e-waste," said the government official.

She noted that Kenya has prioritized information communication technology (ICT) as a key economic driver and many systems are now automated.

"The last mile electricity connection drive intends to connect all Kenyans to the national grid and this implies there will be increased use of electric and electronic equipment," he observed.