Africa’s EV revolution faces a waste reckoning

• EVs are a boon for clean transport and emissions reduction, but without end-of-life frameworks, surging battery retirements threaten to shift a problem rather than solve it.

• For a continent already overwhelmed by e-waste from phones to laptops, adding EV batteries risks undermining fragile systems as unprotected workers handle dangerous scraps.

• Our take: The circular economy must be part of any EV policy, not an afterthought. Without clear reuse, repair and recycling plans, green mobility will generate dirty outcomes for the continent… Read more (2 min)

Q&A: Tax non-compliant firms share waste burden with consumers

• Ms. Gachugi’s push to tax non-compliant firms reflects a shift from voluntary participation to fiscal accountability, aligning Kenya with global EPR norms and creating a stronger deterrent against neglecting waste management obligations.

• By advocating consumer penalties under “distributive shared responsibility,” the environmental scientist aims to break the cycle of littering by making individuals bear consequences, thus incentivising better packaging design and responsible disposal practices.

• Find the full conversation here… Read more (2 min)

Tech watch: Humanoid robot set to revolutionise waste sorting

• ALPHA’s ability to learn from human motions helps overcome common robotic limitations in handling irregular and varied waste items, enabling it to perform complex sorting tasks that traditionally require skilled manual labor.

• By addressing human fatigue and sorting errors, ALPHA improves recycling purity, reduces contamination in single-stream waste and boosts resale value through precise, consistent robotic sorting that outperforms manual efforts.

• Our take: ALPHA’s breakthrough shows how robotics can finally tackle the complexity and unpredictability of waste sorting, a task long dependent on human skill, marking a leap toward smarter, more efficient circular waste management systems…Read more (2 min)

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