Purpose: The Study purpose is to assess how participation in recycling initiatives influences youth empowerment, particularly in enhancing leadership, entrepreneurship, and teamwork skills. Guided by the Self-Determination Theory which highlights autonomy, competence, and relatedness as key motivators for personal development. Methodology: A descriptive survey design was used, targeting 300 urban youth waste collectors in Kisumu. From this population, 175 respondents were selected through purposive sampling. Structured questionnaires were administered and the data were analyzed using SPSS employing descriptive statistics, Pearson's correlation, and linear regression. A pilot test in Nakuru confirmed the tool's reliability (Cronbach's alpha = 0.943). Findings: The findings showed that over 89% of respondents strongly agreed that recycling initiatives had improved their teamwork, leadership, and entrepreneurial abilities. A significant positive relationship was found between recycling initiatives and youth empowerment (r = 0.361, p < 0.001), with regression results indicating that recycling activities accounted for 13% of the variance in empowerment outcomes (R² = 0.130, β = 0.783, p < 0.001). Notably, many youths earned between KES 4,000 and 6,000 over six months (monthly), underscoring the economic potential of recycling. Despite the positive outcomes, barriers such as limited infrastructure, financial constraints, and low awareness of business opportunities were noted. Unique Contributions to Theory, Practice and Policy: The Study recommends strategic support through training, funding, and partnerships to enhance the sustainability of youth participation. It also reinforces the applicability of Self-determination theory in environmental contexts by empirically linking autonomy and competence to real-world recycling activities. Therefore, these findings provide critical insights for policymakers and development actors aiming to transform recycling into a tool for youth-led environmental and economic growth.
Mithamo et al. (Wed,) studied this question.