Abstract
In Kenya, agriculture is an important economic activity, which implies that a significant amount of bio-waste is generated. This is on one hand a waste management problem, but on the other hand, it is an opportunity for creating a sustainable bioeconomy. Therefore, this study investigates the potential recovery of bioresources from Kenyan bio-waste. The study first quantifies occurrence, current usage and disposal of three selected biomass types, being banana, potato and coconut waste. Next, material flow analysis (MFA) is used to systematically track the mass flow of these wastes. Finally, the potential of biomolecules, biomaterials and bioenergy from the waste streams is evaluated. The study revealed that 6007, 426 and 49.5 kt of banana, potato and coconut biomass is wasted. All these wastes can be biorefined, offering potential towards recovery of; flavonoids (88.3 kt), starch (377 kt), cellulose (2000.7 kt) and biogas (1757.0 GWh), being the total potential of the main bioresources from the three waste streams. The study therefore, concluded that, with proper waste collection, sorting and valorisation, there is a huge potential for bioeconomy in Kenya, at the same time reducing waste management problems.