Circular sanitation is here but will it work?

February 18, 2026

Dear subscriber,

Africa is gaining momentum on its circular transition, with policies and regulatory reforms gathering pace. But will ambition translate into infrastructure and systems that actually work?

Mercy Maina - Editor

African leaders have launched the “Africa Water Vision 2063 and Policy”, placing the circular sanitation economy at the centre of the continent’s long term water strategy. The framework seeks to move sanitation beyond disposal toward resource recovery and value creation. Its credibility, however, will be determined by implementation.

  • The policy defines a circular sanitation economy as, “Systems recovering water, nutrients and energy from wastewater to reduce resource consumption and pollution,” reframing sanitation from a public health obligation to productive infrastructure.

  • For a continent where sanitation provision remains uneven and largely disposal driven, translating this vision into functioning systems will require heavy investment in infrastructure and people.

  • Our take: Africa Water Vision 2063 shows strong political intent, but its success hinges on translating that into functioning value chains… Read more (2 min)

Across Africa, recycling is promoted as a key enabler of the circular economy, with numerous startups emerging to seize the opportunity. Yet many ventures collapse within a few years, revealing that passion alone is not enough. Kings Ene, a circular economy entrepreneur in Nigeria, highlights why these businesses fail and what could be done.

  • Mr Ene is the founder of EcoWealth Solutions, a Nigeria-based consultancy advancing circular economy and sustainability solutions. He specialises in waste-to-value systems, recycling business models and circular trade across Africa, helping entrepreneurs, SMEs and institutions design practical systems that turn waste challenges into scalable opportunities.

  • He argues that most recycling ventures in Africa fail not for lack of demand or commitment but because they underestimate operational realities. He stresses that for recycling to scale, businesses must adopt system-focused models while policymakers and investors create enabling frameworks that support sustainable commercially viable operations.

  • Read the full opinion article here (2 min)

As the continent builds momentum toward circularity, governments are moving to anchor the transition within formal national policy frameworks. Benin has launched its national circular economy roadmap, joining a growing list of governments seeking to institutionalise circularity through structured regulatory frameworks.

  • While the circular transition is still evolving, governments are increasingly seeking to close a longstanding policy fragmentation gap that has constrained the sector’s development. 

  • Even as regulatory ambition accelerates, how it will interact with longstanding implementation constraints remains uncertain, particularly in contexts where infrastructure gaps, financing limitations and informality continue to shape waste systems.

  • Our take:  If the efforts succeed, they could mark a structural shift in how Africa’s circular economy develops…Read more (2 min)

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Source: Awuku Makafui

A vertical vegetable farm made from recycled plastics by Awuku Makafui

Events

🗓️ Register for the Where is Circular Innovation South Africa now? webinar (Feb 19)

🗓️ Attend the Africa Green Economy Summit in South Africa (Feb 24) 

🗓️ Be at the West African Clean Energy & Environment Conference (Mar 17)

Jobs

🧕 Work as an expert in Composting and Organic Waste Recovery (Tunisia)

🧕 Be the next Environmental Engineer at Crossing Hurdles (South Africa)

🧕 Consult on circular economy at ITU (Africa)

🧕 Lead operations  at a recycling company (Egypt)

🧕 Apply for Independent Commercial Partner role at Yaman Plast (Morocco)

🧕 Manage non-hazardous medical waste at MSF (South Sudan)

🧕 Design budget for a circular economy project at Hivos (Kenya)

Various 

☀️ IEA report highlights pathways for second life solar panels

🚯 Eswatini strengthens toxic waste management drive

🧑‍⚖️ EPR enforcement in Kenya is struggling

🏆 3 startups win challenge on youth-led enterprises driving Africa’s green economy

Seen on LinkedIn 

Lynn Ouya, a Project Officer at CEJAD-Kenya, says, “For many developing economies, mining is more than an industry; it is a pathway to employment, infrastructure development, and national revenue. A rapid global shift away from virgin material extraction, without parallel investments in alternative industries, risks “kicking away the development ladder” just as some countries are beginning to climb it. The challenge, therefore, is not whether circularity is good, but how it is implemented and who benefits from it.”