How KEPRO’s 3.3-Tonne Billboard Turned Waste Into a Viral Sensation

Taifa news 

Macharia David 

A billboard packed with 3.3 tonnes of plastic waste has become an unlikely attention-grabber in Nairobi, as the Kenya Extended Producer Responsibility Organization (KEPRO) seeks to change how Kenyans perceive waste.

The unusual installation was the centrepiece of KEPRO’s “Rada Safi” campaign, an awareness initiative aimed at encouraging responsible waste management while demonstrating that discarded materials can have economic value.

KEPRO CEO James Odongo said the campaign deliberately abandoned conventional advertising approaches in favour of an idea that would stop people in their tracks.

The creative team proposed filling a billboard with real plastic waste.

The concept faced approval challenges and took about a month to get the necessary clearance. The team eventually installed the structure around the UN Roundabout in Nairobi, where plastic waste was progressively loaded into a large cage.

The objective was not simply to display rubbish, but to provoke a question among passers-by: What do you see when you look at waste?

“People were seeing waste, but we were seeing money,” Odongo said.

The plastic used in the billboard was not waste destined for a dumpsite. It had been collected, sorted and baled by an aggregator working with KEPRO and was already prepared for sale to a recycler.

After the campaign, the material was to return to the recycling chain.

The billboard goes viral

The striking installation quickly captured public attention, with images circulating widely on social media.

Kenyans responded with jokes, comments and speculation, but the campaign team considered the reaction a success because the billboard had achieved its primary objective—getting people to stop and talk about waste.

The installation even prompted people in the creative industry to question whether the images circulating online were real or AI-generated.

One filmmaker reportedly travelled to the site to verify the billboard personally before taking photographs.

For KEPRO, the curiosity demonstrated the effectiveness of using an unconventional visual to communicate an environmental message.

The billboard was eventually used as a springboard for a broader conversation about Kenya's circular economy.

KEPRO partnered with MTV to produce a programme explaining the story behind the installation and highlighting the economic opportunities in waste management.

The programme showcased people earning an income from waste, reinforcing KEPRO's message that proper collection, sorting, recovery and recycling can create livelihoods while reducing environmental pollution.

Winnie Chepkorir also emphasized the importance of changing consumer behaviour and encouraging Kenyans to take practical responsibility for the waste they generate.

The campaign's success, according to KEPRO, was therefore not only about the number of people who saw the billboard. Its greater impact was getting Kenyans to rethink what they call “waste.”

With 3.3 tonnes of plastic transformed into an attention-grabbing billboard, “Rada Safi” sought to demonstrate that what looks like rubbish to one person can represent raw material—and money—to another.

The message from KEPRO is clear: waste is a resource, and Kenya's circular economy can only grow when consumers, collectors, aggregators, recyclers and producers recognise its value.