RWANDA – The government of Rwanda has unveiled a 14-year US$211.3 million circular economy action plan for African waste management at the just concluded 6th World Circular Economy Forum (WCEF).

On the first day of the event, Rwanda published its first Circular Economy Action Plan and Road Map, providing 17 concrete policy interventions and a clear direction to achieve carbon neutrality and climate resilience.

“Enabled through the financial support granted by the UN Development Program, the Ministry of Environment is proud to present the National Circular Economy Action Plan for Rwanda,” the action plan outlines.

The action plan envisions that by 2035 Rwanda’s economy will have placed circularity at its core, ensuring the retention of resources and eliminating waste and pollution while regenerating natural systems.

“Investing in the circular economy is an investment in climate action, biodiversity protection, supply chain security, innovation as well as job creation and skills development,” says Jeanne d’Arc Mujawamariya, Rwanda’s minister of environment.

Organized in the Global South for the first time, under the theme “From Africa to the World,” the focus of this year’s forum is providing solutions for harnessing opportunities to improve livelihoods and end poverty, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, adapt to climate change and safeguard biodiversity.

This comes at a time when demand for packaging in Africa is growing, driven by low costs and growth in local industries – notably, agro-processing, according to WCEF,

Sixteen countries in Africa have banned single-use plastics and are introducing measures to enforce the ban.

According to African Circular Economy Alliance’s (ACEA) report, The Five Big Bets for Africa’s path to circularity, revealed that 90% of waste in African countries is disposed of in uncontrolled dumpsites and landfills, while 13% of African municipal solid waste is plastic and is dumped instead of recycled.

Moreover, US$80 – US$120 billion is the annual loss to the global economy of reduced plastic value after initial use.

For immediate opportunity, ACEA suggests recycling plastic packaging to increase circularity within the industry.

To make the packaging industry in Africa more circular, it is spotlighting the production of bioplastics using plant-based material as an alternative, rather than petroleum used in conventional plastics.

In addition, the development of global, industry-wide standards for plastic product design, such as mono-material or the production of transparent (non-colored) plastics, is recommended.

ACEA also suggests utilizing reusable business-to-business (B2B) packaging that can be used in pooled systems across companies and industries, increasing recycling through innovative bottle deposit systems and incentivizing investments in recycling facilities through legislation and tax incentives.

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