By Wallace Mawire recently in Nairobi,Kenya
Ghana is set to host the fourth Global Forum of Cities for Circular Economy (GFCCE) in Accra on 21 to 23 November,2023 to act on improved implementation by working on a common agenda for action by the collaborating country partners.
Atin Biswas,Programme Director,Solid Waste Management and Circular Economy at the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) based in India in a presentation on the State of Africa’s Environment Report for 2023 and the 2023 African Science Journalists Congress convened in Nairobi,Kenya by CSE in partnership with the Media for Environment,Science,Health and Agriculture (MESHA) in Nairobi,Kenya on 11 to 13 October,2023 told participants mostly,Journalists from various African countries and other stakeholders that the Global Forum of Cities for Circular Economy was conceptualized as a strategic shift from state specific engagement to channelize support
through a forum on solid waste management issues.
Biswas said that at the first GFCCE held in Tanzania on July 2022 nine African Nations joined the forum for cross learning,capacity building, technical support and exposure.
Member countries in the forum according to Biswas include Bangladesh,Bhutan,Cameroon,Cote D’lvoire,Ethiopia,Eswatini,Ghana,India,Kenya,Mozambique,Namibia,Napal,Rwanda,Senegal,South Africa,Sri lanka,Tanzania,Uganda,Zambia and Zimbabwe.
He said that during the second GFCCE held in January, 2023 the forum gained momentum with a clear agenda for engagement and cooperation with extensive support from the Centre for Science and Environment.
Biswas added that during the third GFCCE held in India in May,2023, 19 Nations comprising 15 from Africa and four from Asia joined the GFCCE for an extensive training and exposure visit to India.
An overview of solid waste management challenges outlined by Biswas include a projected increase in waste generation in the region by 300% by the year 2050.It is also reported that of the 50 largest landfills in the world,19 are located in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Biswas says that across Sub-Saharan Africa,only 55% of waste is collected and of the collected waste,only 19% is managed in controlled facilities.
He said that limiting factors in addressing the solid waste management challenges in sub-Saharan Africa include an absence of synergies in policies and weak implementation, absence of credible data inventories, absence of clear mandate for source separation resulting in poor rate of processing and treatment,inefficient collection and transportation of waste, nominal investment on processing and treatment,ever increasing plastic pollution and marine litter, unscientific disposal of waste,waste burning including weak funding and budget allocations.
Biswas says that the GFCCE sets an agenda for change which the cooperating countries can adopt as an agreed common agenda for action.
The proposed common agendas include adopting separation or segregation of waste at source,investing in waste processing and treatment,encouraging Public Private Partnerships (PPP) models on waste quantification and characterization, managing bulk waste generators enabling business ecosystem, redesign concessionaire agreement using municipal bye-laws as legal instruments, investing in behaviour change communication,optimizing cost on waste collection and transportation,prioritizing decentralized approaches, integrating the informal sector, banning dumping of bio-degradable and combustible waste,implementing the “polluter pays” principle for plastic waste management,imposing landfill taxes and closing existing dumpsites.
The cooperating countries could take a cue from the key clean India mission 2.0 mandate which focuses on reclamation of land after complete biomining of the legacy dumpsite,augmenting treatment and processing efficiency to meet current and projected generation including diverting 80% of waste from reaching the dumpsite by 2026.
A circular is an economic system based on the re-use and regeneration of materials or products, especially as a means of continuing production in a sustainable or environmentally friendly way.
The notion of a circular economy has gained traction, with many companies in many countries looking to operate in a way which minimises waste.
