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  • Here is a crucial shift in the recycling narrative. It involves community

Here is a crucial shift in the recycling narrative. It involves community

May 11, 2025

Waste pickers in Gambia and South Africa are the focus of a new $300,000 partnership between UK-based circularity NGO WasteAid and global technology firm Veralto. The initiative aims to boost incomes, improve social conditions and reduce plastic pollution by empowering local communities to take charge of waste management.

  • The partnership highlights a crucial shift in the circular economy narrative, where informal waste workers are no longer seen as peripheral actors but as key drivers of change. 

  • The emphasis on informal workers aligns with broader sustainable development trends, where community-led solutions are recognised as essential for long-term environmental and social impact. 

  • Our take:The WasteAid–Veralto partnership sets an precedent for inclusive waste management by putting informal workers at the centre… Read more (2 min)

Funding tracker: North Africa takes 95% of sector investments

In April, circular economy investments were heavily skewed towards North Africa, which secured a remarkable 95% of the total $157.7 million raised across the continent. Egypt alone captured $150 million, while West Africa's Ghana and Nigeria collectively raised $7.7 million to support small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the sector.

  • Egypt’s funding targeted large-scale government infrastructure. Of the $150 million, 53%—approximately $80 million—will upgrade the East Alexandria Treatment Plant, expected to serve 1.5 million people with 300,000 cubic meters of water per day. 

  • The remaining $70 million (47%) will expand Cairo’s Yellow Mountain Wastewater Treatment Plant, one of the largest facilities of its kind in Africa and the Middle East.

  • Our take: The heavy concentration of funding in North Africa, particularly Egypt’s infrastructure projects, reveals a preference for large-scale, government-led initiatives… Read more (2 min)

Ghana has launched an initiative that seeks to integrate e-waste management and recycling practices into the country’s technical and tertiary education curricula. Funded by the German government, the initiative aims to equip young people with sustainable waste management skills and create a structured recycling system.

  • Education has been shown to be key in driving the behavior change needed for a circular economy. By embedding sustainability concepts into school curricula, students develop foundations critical to long-term systemic change.

  • Education also plays a bridging role between the informal waste sector and formal green industries. By teaching practical circular economy skills in schools, African countries can build a skilled workforce, create green jobs and support the transition to structured, sustainable waste systems. 

  • Our take: Embedding circularity in education isn’t a quick fix—it’s a generational investment. If executed well, it could become Africa’s most powerful engine for a just and inclusive green transition…Read more (2 min)

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Newly-elected officials of Recyclers Association of Nigeria (RAN) take oath of office

Events

🗓️ Register for the Propak East Africa Conference and Expo in Kenya (May 20)

🗓️ Network at the WASTE 360 conference in South Africa (July 8)

🗓️ Attend the Plastics Recycling Show Middle East & Africa in Dubai (September 15)

🗓️ Take part in the ESG Africa Conference in South Africa (October 15)

Jobs

👨🏻‍💼 Join Orange as Manager, Circular Economy & Climate Engagement (Egypt)

👨🏻‍💼 Become Programme Management Assistant at UNEP (Kenya)

🧕 Work as Project Administrator for a recycling project at Technoserve (Nigeria)

👷 Serve as a Wastewater Technical Specialist at UN-Habitat (Nairobi)

Various 

🏭 Waste Power to set up a 15 MW waste-to-energy plant in Rwanda

⚡ Ndege Group unveils $300M (200MW) waste-to-energy plant in Nigeria

💰 EU announces funding opportunities for circular economy innovations

📑 Study proposes an AI-based system to sort waste efficiently 

♻️ TaZolt Green converts plastic waste into school benches in Niger

🍍 Delmonte acquires Mananasi Fibre, a firm recycling pineapple waste

🏤 Green Guard Eco Solutions launches Liberia’s first waste-to-energy plant

Seen on LinkedIn 

Alice Eze, the Chief Operating Officer at Climate Action Africa, says, “The woman who takes my plastic bottles doesn’t call herself a climate activist. But she is. Yes, we need solar panels, strong policies, and climate-smart tech... but we also need to formalise the informal, to back the hands already doing the work with real investment.”