Circular Economy Could Boost Waste Management In Africa But Challenges Remain- Experts

By Jean-Pierre Afadhali

By Jean-Pierre Afadhali

A zero-waste approach, focusing on the reuse of products, will save urban societies from the garbage burden, but recycling remains one of the biggest challenges, said experts in interviews with Pan-African Visions.

This follows a recent UN report that advocates for a circular economy model, in which waste generation and economic growth are separated.

The report says adopting waste avoidance, sustainable business practices, and full waste management will help African municipalities and the world effectively manage waste, reduce pollution and public health nuisance.

Meanwhile, UK’s Global Alliance Africa, a programme that promotes UK-Africa partnerships to create market access, funding and investment opportunities through innovation, has announced the winners of the Sebenzisa waste challenge, a project that aims to bridge the gap between research, innovation and real-world impact.

The UN report, titled ‘Beyond an age of waste: Turning rubbish into a resource,’ provides a scientific assessment of the impacts and costs of the growing amounts of waste to be managed, and calls for global action to prioritise waste prevention and municipal waste management services for the sake of planetary and human health.

In an interview, Zoë Lenkiewicz, lead author of the report said, one of the key challenges African cities faces is a lack of political attention to rubbish problems.

“Waste management is rarely considered a political priority,” Lenkiewicz said. “This is often because the hidden costs of poor waste management are not seen.”

According to the report jointly published by the International Solid Waste Association and UNEP, municipal solid waste generation is predicted to grow from 2.3 billion tonnes in 2023 to 3.8 billion tonnes by 2050.

Karin Boomsma, director of Sustainable Inclusive Business, The Knowledge Centre Kenya, said in an interview that African countries are embracing circular economies  at different levels. This is done through policies and business practices; however, recycling remains one of the challenges.

“I believe circularity will create sustainability and inclusion through practices such as reusable and repair,” Boomsma said.

As part of Sembenzisa Waste Challenge, four new pilot projects will soon be launched in Thembisa, a South African township, helping to create sustainable, circular economies for waste management in one of the country’s largest urban areas.

Africa is responsible for a small proportion of global waste generation, due to limited urbanisation and industrialisation, but municipalities face waste management challenges, leading to pollution and negative impacts on public health.

The report says, the lowest levels of solid waste management are in Sub-Saharan Africa and Central and South Asia.

According to Lenkiewicz, where there are no waste management services, people have no option other than to dump or burn their waste.

The UN report calls for urgent need to decouple waste generation from economic growth and shift to zero waste and circular economy approaches.

However, according to Boomsma, some products are designed “to make reusable and recycling very difficult.”

Boomsma added “Some plastics can’t be recycled; we have to decide which materials we want.”

The report further states “reuse and recycling reduce demand for energy-intensive and environmentally damaging raw material extraction, enable waste to be valued as a resource, and prevent pollution from waste leaking into the environment.”

Kenya and Rwanda have played a key role in the circular economy and plastic waste management. Kigali banned single-use plastic in 2008, while Nairobi in 2017, banned plastic-carrier bags.

Projections show that a circular economy model could lead to a full net gain of USD 108.5 billion per year.