Policy Tracker: Regulations grow sharper and stricter

From the newsletter

Africa’s circular economy policies are becoming more enforceable and precise, signalling a shift from broad pledges to concrete action. The Circular Rising policy tracker spotlights new laws and regulations that emphasise technical detail, stronger enforcement, and growing accountability across plastic waste and hazardous material management.

• Countries across the continent are moving from general bans to embedding clear technical thresholds, like micron limits and material bans, into laws, making circular rules easier to enforce and monitor at scale.

• Enforcement is gaining bite, with individual fines, phased deadlines, licensing, and penalties, including jail terms, signalling a new seriousness in regulatory follow-through.

More details

• In early June, Ethiopia’s Parliament passed Proclamation No. 1383/2017, a law that introduces one of the most detailed bans on single-use plastics in Africa. The legislation targets a wide range of plastic items, including bags, bottles, straws, and wrappers, long linked to environmental degradation and public health risks. A key feature is the thickness threshold of 0.03 millimetres, effectively banning the production, importation, and sale of lightweight plastics commonly used in informal packaging and food distribution.

• The law imposes fines ranging from $35-$88 on individuals found in possession of banned items, such as the widely used one-Birr injera bags, signalling a rare move to enforce personal accountability. It also grants regional and local governments authority to adapt regulations based on local environmental conditions, introducing a decentralised implementation model that may improve local buy-in and effectiveness.

• To support compliance, the new law mandates national awareness campaigns aimed at educating consumers and businesses, helping to reduce unintentional violations. This mix of punitive and preventive measures, alongside decentralised flexibility, positions Ethiopia as a regulatory frontrunner in the fight against plastic pollution on the continent.

• In Nigeria, Lagos State has stepped ahead of national policy with a ban on single-use plastics below 40 microns. The regulation was announced in January 2024, with an 18-month moratorium originally set to end in January 2025, but later extended by six months following stakeholder consultations.

• Full enforcement began on July 1, 2025, triggering a coordinated crackdown across the state. Authorities have launched market inspections, confiscations, shop closures, and are issuing fines and jail terms to violators. While narrower in scope than Ethiopia’s national law, the Lagos ban reflects a growing wave of subnational leadership and enforcement muscle in Africa’s circular economy.

• Kenya’s Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) regulations, formalised under Legal Notice No. 176 of 2024, mark a systemic shift in waste governance by placing the burden of waste management on producers.

• Originally gazetted in November 2024, the law took effect on May 5, 2025, allowing a six-month window for producers to prepare. Under the law, companies must register with the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA), establish take-back and recycling systems, pay eco-levies tied to product volumes, and submit annual compliance reports.

• Enforcement has begun in earnest following growing concern over non-compliance and delayed registration by major manufacturers. NEMA has signalled that penalties, including revocation of operating licenses, could follow for companies that fail to comply.

• Meanwhile, South Africa’s 2024 Regulations for the Management of Mercury extend circular policy beyond plastics to hazardous materials. Implementation began on April 1, 2025, under the National Environmental Management Act, setting binding timelines to phase out mercury-added products such as batteries, thermometers, switches, and dental amalgam.

• The regulation requires dental clinics to install mercury separators by April 2026, introduce strict licensing and storage conditions, and impose penalties of up to $285,500- or five-years’ imprisonment for violations. The law aligns closely with the Minamata Convention on Mercury, a global treaty adopted in 2013 to protect human health and the environment by controlling mercury emissions, phasing out mercury-added products, and ensuring safe storage and disposal.

Our take

• Africa’s shift toward enforceable, technically specific circular laws marks a turning point, from symbolic bans to rules that carry real cost for non-compliance.

• Decentralised enforcement, as seen in Ethiopia and Nigeria, could improve impact by allowing local tailoring, but it risks fragmentation without national coordination and oversight.

• Kenya’s EPR rollout shows the growing pressure on producers to clean up their supply chains. But timely enforcement will be key to avoiding industry backsliding.