Opinion: Lessons from fighting plastic pollution

From the newsletter

As Africa confronts the escalating cost of plastic pollution, Frank Adiga of UNECA argues that bans and clean-up efforts alone will not deliver lasting impact. Drawing on his role in developing Africa’s first continental plastic pollution strategy, he calls for inclusive, systemic and data-driven approaches to advance circular economy outcomes.

• Mr Adiga is a Chartered Environmentalist and currently a Regional Consultant on Circular Economy at the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA). He spearheaded the recent development of the Continental Strategy for the Control and Mitigation of Plastic Pollution on Aquatic Biodiversity and the Environment in Africa, an initiative funded by AU-IBAR and the Government of Sweden (Sida).

• He argues that effective plastic pollution control requires co-design with communities, system-wide interventions across the plastics value chain and harmonised data to guide action, moving Africa beyond isolated bans towards a circular economy that prevents waste at source and delivers measurable environmental outcomes.

More details

By Frank Adiga

How do you tackle a problem that costs your continent nearly $3 billion a year? A crisis that sees 17 million tonnes of plastic waste mismanaged annually? You do not just write another report. You embark on a continent-wide mission.

In developing Africa’s new Continental Strategy on plastic pollution, we engaged with leaders, scientists, and communities across 55 nations. The journey revealed powerful truths that go far beyond policy papers. These are the hard-won lessons that can reshape our approach to complex environmental challenges.

1. Progress isn't dictated from a boardroom; it's co-designed on the ground.

Our first, and most profound, lesson was one of humility. The real experts on plastic waste are not just in government ministries; they are in the bustling markets and coastal communities, and especially among the informal waste pickers who form the backbone of recycling in Africa.

Instead of relying on assumptions, we went to them. We walked through communities in Kenya, Ghana, and South Africa, listening to the challenges and innovations of those on the frontlines. The strategy that emerged is stronger for it, built on a foundation of shared ownership. The lesson is universal: to solve a problem for a community, you must first build with the community.

2. Silver bullets are a myth. Real change is systemic.

Africa led the world with bold plastic bag bans—a source of immense pride and a critical first step. But our early victories taught us a crucial lesson: you can’t solve a systemic problem with a single tool.

We saw how even the strictest bans could be undermined by smuggling or the lack of affordable alternatives. It became clear that we were fighting a battle on one front when the challenge spanned an entire lifecycle. This forced a strategic pivot. The new vision moves beyond just managing waste at the end of the pipe. It’s about redesigning the entire system—working with producers on smarter packaging, investing in reuse and refill models, and creating a circular economy that designs waste out of the system from the very start.

3. You cannot fight an enemy you cannot see.

For too long, the narrative around plastic pollution was driven by powerful images but supported by patchy data. We were operating with an incomplete map of the battlefield. A major weakness we identified was a continent-wide deficit in reliable, harmonized data.

This had to change. We shifted from anecdotes to analytics. The strategy’s development was built on systematically mapping pollution hotspots across Africa’s major rivers and lakes. This evidence-based approach is now at the heart of the strategy, which calls for standardized monitoring and shared data platforms. It turns a vague crisis into a measurable mission, allowing us to target our efforts, track our progress, and hold ourselves accountable for real results.

These three pillars—radical inclusion, systemic design, and data-driven action—are more than just lessons. They are the blueprint for a new kind of environmental governance. They have shaped a strategy that is not just about cleaning our rivers and oceans, but about building a more resilient, equitable, and sustainable future for Africa.

Let's build that future together.