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Wastewater could become a new feedstock for green fuels
Dear subscriber,
Africa’s wastewater systems have long been viewed through the lens of sanitation and disposal. But as pressure grows to decarbonise industries and modernise urban infrastructure, sewage and wastewater are beginning to attract attention as industrial feedstocks rather than simply environmental liabilities. The technology itself may still be nascent. But the bigger shift may lie in how African municipalities, investors and policymakers begin to value waste.
Mercy Maina - Editor
 | Africa’s wastewater could soon play a growing role in industrial decarbonisation. Blended finance facility Climate Fund Managers is investing $4 million in a South African wastewater-to-methanol project expected to produce 14,300 tonnes of green methanol by 2029 while processing an estimated 90,000 tonnes of sewage sludge each year. |
Africa generates an estimated 125 million tonnes of municipal solid waste annually, much of which remains poorly managed, while rapid urbanisation continues to strain wastewater and sludge treatment infrastructure.
As African countries pursue industrial decarbonisation, wastewater and sewage sludge are increasingly being viewed not only as environmental liabilities, but also as potential feedstocks for low-carbon fuels and circular industrial systems.
Our take: Circular fuel projects could strengthen arguments for integrating waste infrastructure into national industrial and energy transition strategies… Read more (2 min)
 | As uncertainty grows around global plastics treaty negotiations following Norway’s decision — as UNEP’s largest donor — to freeze funding to the environmental body, James Odongo of KEPRO argues that Africa should pursue plastics governance through existing continental and sub-regional systems rather than wait for global consensus. |
Mr Odongo is the CEO of the Kenya Extended Producer Responsibility Organisation (KEPRO) that brings together key stakeholders to support the management of non-hazardous post-consumer packaging waste in Kenya.
“Africa has always innovated around the absence of global cooperation. This is no different. The question is whether we act now — or spend the next decade cleaning up decisions made without us,” he says.
Read the full opinion article here (2 min)
 | Over the past five months, Circular Rising has tracked growing momentum around financing and enterprise support for SMEs in Africa’s circular economy. Most recently, KCB Foundation launched an EU-funded initiative supporting MSMEs adopting circular business models, weeks after Absa Foundation unveiled a separate programme. |
Africa’s circular economy ecosystem remains largely early-stage, with many enterprises still operating at small scale.
While many circular economy SMEs have viable business models, limited financing, technical capacity and investment readiness continue to restrict their ability to scale and access institutional capital.
Our take: The growing focus on SME financing could contribute to the gradual formalisation of Africa’s circular economy.…Read more (2 min)
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Source: Awuku Makafui
Building in Accra being roofed using recycled water sachet waste
Events
✍️ Learn how to turn farm waste into energy at Bio360 Africa, S. Africa (June 17)
📦 Sign up for KEPRO Sustainable Packaging Exchange in Kenya (June 23)
Jobs
⚠️ Handle hazardous waste at Amentum (Mauritius)
💹 Support the sales function at the Paper Packaging Company (Nigeria)
⛑️ Consult as an Electric Engineer for Libaconsult AGM (Egypt)
👷 Work as a Principal Tailings Engineer at SLR Consulting (Namibia)
Various
💹 WtE projected to surpass 49.7 million by 2033 amid global urbanisation
🏞️ Dumping waste into rivers is environmental treason
👗 Textile waste emerges as Kenya’s new ocean crisis
⚡Asbestos dumped illegally in Kenya
🪼 Nigeria loses $1bn yearly to marine litter
🍱 Recycled plastics for food use require stronger safeguards, warn UN experts
🔊 UNDP calls for innovations in circular economy and waste management (Uganda)
🏅 Cape Town’s waste strategy wins global award
Seen on LinkedIn
Langelihle Buthelezi, an environmental scientist, says, “The shift toward a circular economy is not just an environmental conversation anymore. It is an economic, operational, and social necessity.”