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- Why recycling is Africa’s most scalable waste solution
Why recycling is Africa’s most scalable waste solution
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 | A new study by environmental NGO Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives (GAIA) finds that zero waste is the most cost-effective pathway for managing Africa’s growing waste crisis. Unlike incineration, which would require cities to build expensive new plants, zero waste can adapt to rising populations through composting and recycling. |
Waste-to-energy incineration requires billion-dollar plants and fixed waste streams, investments that remain financially and politically unrealistic for most African cities.
Zero waste systems expand flexibly, enabling cities to strengthen composting and recycling while creating jobs, cutting costs and offering climate benefits.
Our take: Africa’s rising population makes zero waste investment urgent, with failure to act risking locking cities into costly, polluting systems… Read more (2 min)
 | In the wake of failed global plastics treaty negotiations, Hellen Kahaso Dena, Project Lead for the Pan-African Plastics Project at Greenpeace Africa, says Africa’s focus must be on cutting plastic production, not just improving recycling. She warns that without production caps the continent will remain vulnerable to waste colonialism. |
According to Ms Dena, an ideal treaty for Africa would address plastics across their entire life cycle, combining production cuts, safer product design, the phasing out of toxic chemicals, and support for refill-and-reuse systems.
In an interview, the Greenpeace Africa campaigner says that to achieve this, the treaty must be backed by strong financial mechanisms and meaningful technology transfer, enabling countries to scale successful circular solutions already operating on the ground.
Find the full conversation here (2 min)
 | A South African company has developed a new recycling technology that converts all types of plastic waste into RESIN8™, a patented eco-aggregate that is incorporated into commonly used building materials. The technology, already being applied in Cape Town, could fuel sustainable construction on the continent. |
Africa’s construction sector mainly consumes natural aggregates and cement, putting pressure on the environment and contributing to waste and carbon emissions.
The new technology could ease Africa’s reliance on conventional inputs while providing a scalable way to manage the region’s growing plastic waste.
Our take: The surge of innovations converting waste into valuable materials suggests Africa could finally turn its plastic problem into an economic and environmental opportunity……Read more (2 min)
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Community members clean up a section of Kibera slum, Kenya
Events
🗓️ Attend the Plastics Recycling Show Middle East & Africa in Dubai (September 15)
🗓️ Network at the Africa International E-Waste Conference in Kenya (October 16)
🗓️ Participate in the Nature and Circularity Week in South Africa (October 20)
🗓️ Sign up for the South Africa Circular Summit (October 23)
Jobs
🧕 Manage waste and recycling activities at GlobalForce (South Africa)
🧕 Work as a Site Supervisor at Interwaste Pty (South Africa)
🧕 Supervise medical waste at Compass Medical Waste Services (S. Africa)
🧕 Ensure effective management of solid waste at NRC (Sudan)
🧕Oversee recycling of cooled water accumulators at VillageReach (DR Congo)
🧕 Apply for Project Manager: MSF Hazardous Waste Project role at MSF (Kenya)
🧕 Support Techoserve staff as a driver for a plastic recycling project (Nigeria)
🧕 Oversee advisory services for a plastic recycling project at Technoserve (Nigeria)
Various
🗑️ How countries can achieve zero-carbon municipal solid waste management
💻 Lagos State launches digital contest to boost waste management awareness
♻️ Japan launches recycling tech that recovers carbon fibers from automobiles
🏚️ Tanzania targets households in new nationwide waste management drive
💸 South Africa to rehabilitate the decommissioned Kya Sands landfill
✍️ Opinion: The e-waste EPR is more than a white elephant
🏧 Circular economy part of Benin’s green finance strategy to attract global investors
🪫 Researchers develop breakthrough waste-to-energy technology
Seen on LinkedIn
Nikos Koutsianas, founder of Symbeeosis, says, “The truth is that materials degrade, and nothing can be reused forever. But if we shift our systems and habits now, we can slow waste, ease the pressure on natural resources, and create a more resilient future.”