Policy tracker: Three new frameworks developed

From the newsletter

Policymakers across the region doubled down on efforts to strengthen governance in the circularity sector by developing three new policies in the final quarter of 2025. The measures focus on extended producer responsibility as well as national circular economy planning and regional plastic pollution prevention.

• The policies were developed at different governance levels, including national frameworks in Kenya and Benin and a regional framework covering the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) member states.

• They comprise regulatory requirements, long-term planning instruments and regional coordination mechanisms addressing waste management, resource efficiency and cross-border environmental challenges.

More details

• In East Africa, Kenya’s environmental regulator, the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA), resumed implementation of the Sustainable Waste Management (Extended Producer Responsibility) Regulations, Legal Notice No 176 of 2024, in November 2025 following months of legal uncertainty. The regulations had faced a temporary suspension earlier in the year after a court challenge over procedural issues, including public participation.

• The regulations require producers to register with NEMA, establish take-back and collection systems, pay extended producer responsibility (EPR) fees linked to product volumes and submit annual compliance reports. The framework also operationalises EPR in Kenya by shifting post-consumer waste management obligations from local authorities to producers, with implications for packaging, electronics and other priority product streams.

• In West Africa, Benin launched its National Action Plan for the Circular Economy (2025–2035) in November 2025, establishing a ten-year strategic framework to guide the country’s transition towards a more resource-efficient, inclusive and resilient economic model. The plan formalises four ambitions, including strengthening economic and climate resilience through local processing, developing inclusive value chains, improving resource productivity in strategic sectors and positioning Benin as a circular economy model in Francophone Africa.

• The plan targets five priority sectors including agriculture and forestry, household and similar solid waste, plastics, transport and mobility, and construction. It is structured around 34 objectives and 134 actions, supported by a ten-year implementation timetable, a monitoring and evaluation system and a diversified financing model involving public resources, development partners, the private sector and regional cooperation. Governance is designed in two stages, beginning with a Technical Team for the Circular Economy from 2025 to 2027, followed by the establishment of a National Agency for the Circular Economy.

• At the regional level in the Horn of Africa, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) adopted the IGAD Regional Plastic Pollution Prevention Strategy and Implementation Plan (2026–2035) on 4 December 2025 in Djibouti. The strategy was adopted at ministerial level following technical consultations involving experts from IGAD member states and regional and international partners, with development facilitated through the IGAD Blue Economy project and financial support from the government of Sweden.

• The regional framework establishes a coordinated approach to preventing plastic pollution across IGAD member states, promoting a transition to circular economy systems, source-to-sea management and harmonised policies and standards. It also prioritises strengthened waste management and recycling infrastructure, regulation of plastic production and use, extended producer responsibility, private sector engagement and regional monitoring of waste flows. Member states also mandated the IGAD Secretariat to mobilise resources and support the development of aligned national plastic pollution prevention strategies under a common regional framework.

Our take

• The wave of new circular economy frameworks signals growing policy maturity across Africa, but the real test will lie in enforcement, financing and institutional follow-through.

• By combining binding regulations, long-term national strategies and regional coordination, policymakers are laying the groundwork for scale, marking a clear shift from pilot-driven circular economy initiatives to system-level governance across Africa.