THE CONVERSATION
African digital innovators are turning plastic waste into value, but there are gaps – here’s what can be done (Photo: Flickr / Nyancho Nwanri / Arete) 
There are promising start-ups across the continent transforming the plastic value chain into a smart, innovative and sustainable network. But there are challenges, such as scaling.
Plastic pollution is a growing global menace. Between 2010 and 2020, the global production of plastics increased from 270 million tonnes to 367 million tonnes. Every year, more than 12 million tonnes of plastic end up in the world’s oceans, with severe consequences for marine life. When macroplastics degrade into microplastics, they easily contaminate the food chain and pose significant threats to human health via inhalation and ingestion.
By 2030, plastic waste is expected to double to 165 million tonnes in African countries. Most of this will be in Egypt, Nigeria, South Africa, Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia.
A significant proportion of the plastic that ends up on African shores is produced in developed, industrialised countries. By 2010, it was estimated that close to 4.4 million tonnes of mismanaged plastic waste ended up in oceans and seas off the coast of Africa every year. A 2022 estimate put this number at 17 million tonnes.
Growing numbers of NGOs and innovators across the continent are responding to the challenge. They are developing digital solutions to reduce plastic waste generation, and promoting reuse and recycling of plastic products. Increasingly, African tech hubs are incorporating environmental sustainability into their business models.
In our recent paper, we highlight ongoing efforts and innovations in what is called the plastic value chain. This comprises four phases, from the design of plastic products to manufacture, use and end of life.
We found a number of initiatives that are transforming the plastic value chain into a smart, innovative and sustainable network. Most aim to improve plastic identification, collection, transport, sorting, processing and reuse. Some focus on the earlier phases: design and production of plastic products.
Read more in Daily Maverick: “Plastic waste polluting South Africa’s oceans needs answers from bright young minds”
A whole-value-chain approach to the circular plastic economy is very important. While the majority of plastic waste management activities tend to focus on the use and end-of-life phases, more attention needs to be given to design and manufacture. This is where the problem of plastic waste begins.
Worldwide, attention is turning to designing simpler and standardised products that are easier to recycle and reuse.
Innovators cracking the code
A Nigerian software company, Wecyclers, operates a rewards-for-recycling platform. It offers incentives to individuals and households in low-income communities to make money and capture value from recyclable plastic waste.
Via the platform, waste collectors are connected to a fleet of locally assembled waste-cargo vehicles, which they use to collect waste from subscribing households. These households are also rewarded according to the quantity of waste collected from them.
The collected waste is deposited in designated locations in the Lagos metropolis, to be collected in bulk by recyclers. This provides materials to manufacturers who turn them into new items such as tissue paper, stuffing for bedding, plastic furniture, aluminium sheets and nylon bags.
The impact is significant on many levels. First, by linking waste generating households with waste collectors in their neighbourhoods, the Wecycler model simplifies the logistics of collection and sorting at source, at practically no cost to households. Second, it enables households not only to mitigate the public health risks associated with plastic waste accumulation and mismanagement, but also to generate income. Finally, it elongates the end-of-life phase in the plastic value chain through recycling and potential reuse.
Read more in Daily Maverick: “Waste plastic could outstrip coal as a viable energy source”
In Uganda, Yo Waste, a technology start-up, has developed a mobile, cloud-based solution that connects waste generators to the nearest waste haulers in their community. Yo Waste improves the efficiency of scheduling and waste collection. It also helps waste collection companies measure the productivity of their trucks, and gives recyclers easier access to the plastic waste.
In Zambia, Recyclebot is connecting waste sellers to waste buyers via a crowdsourcing platform that aggregates waste by type and location. In effect, the plastic waste producers dispose of their waste for free, and waste buyers overcome the cost of separation, transfer and storage.
While these are promising innovations, the main challenge is scaling. This is slow on the continent. Start-ups in the recycling industry face additional challenges like inadequate funding and an underdeveloped plastic market that offers limited opportunities for growth and income generation.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
A significant proportion of the funds accessed by start-ups is provided as grants from international and local organisations. Pure business investments are rare, and policy interventions are way behind the curve.
What can be done
To accelerate the transition to a circular plastic economy, stakeholders from across a spectrum of organisations must work together. They include NGOs, cooperatives, think tanks and community groups. The current approach to tackling plastic waste on the continent remains scattered and inadequately coordinated. While efforts are being made to develop new ecosystems in many countries, key stakeholders are often missing.
Read more in Daily Maverick: “Why biodegradable packaging might not be… biodegradable”
In particular, African governments have a key role to play. They need to commit more to strategic investment in infrastructure, incentives and support for start-ups. African countries also need policy interventions to grow the market for circular plastic products at national and continent-wide levels.
In another study, we argued that innovators must tailor their strategies to create innovations that are functional and easy to use. This will make it easier for ordinary consumers and the general public to accept them. In turn it will help change habits of consumption and expand the market for circular plastic products.
Digital innovators, as early adopters, are critical for driving changes in the way the plastics economy works across the continent. Their innovations are also leading to knowledge exchange and cross-sectoral collaborations.
Read more in Daily Maverick: “Take the wrap – to cut plastic waste out of your life, start small”
However, they also face significant institutional challenges and infrastructural limitations that are slowing down the pace of progress. By working together and pooling resources, stakeholders can achieve an impact that is much greater than the sum of their individual initiatives and contributions towards a circular plastic economy in Africa. DM/OBP
Seun Kolade and Muyiwa Oyinlola are associate professors at De Montfort University in the UK.
Disclosure statement: Seun Kolade receives funding from UK Research and Innovation (UKRI)/EPSRC as a co-investigator of the project titled Digital Innovations for Transitioning to a Circular Plastic Economy in Africa (DITCh Plastic). Project Reference: EP/T029846/1. Muyiwa Oyinlola receives funding from UK Research and Innovation (UKRI)/EPSRC as a principal investigator of the project titled Digital Innovations for Transitioning to a Circular Plastic Economy in Africa (DITCh Plastic). Project Reference: EP/T029846/1.
First published in The Conversation.
X
Republish this article
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
African digital innovators are turning plastic waste into value, but there are gaps – here’s what can be done Copy to Clipboard 1 Adverts on/off? You choose. X
Daily Maverick © All rights reserved
We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept All”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. However, you may visit "Cookie Settings" to provide a controlled consent.Cookie SettingsManage consent Close
Privacy Overview
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
| Cookie | Duration | Description |
|---|---|---|
| __cfduid | 1 month | The cookie is used by cdn services like CloudFlare to identify individual clients behind a shared IP address and apply security settings on a per-client basis. It does not correspond to any user ID in the web application and does not store any personally identifiable information. |
| _GRECAPTCHA | 5 months 27 days | This cookie is set by Google. In addition to certain standard Google cookies, reCAPTCHA sets a necessary cookie (_GRECAPTCHA) when executed for the purpose of providing its risk analysis. |
| cid | 1 year | This is an important cookie in making credit card transaction on the website. It allows the online transaction without storing the credit card information.This service is provided by Stripe.com. |
| connect.sid | 1 month | This cookie is used for authentication and for secure log-in. It registers the log-in information. |
| cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics | 11 months | This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics". |
| cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional | 11 months | The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional". |
| cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary | 11 months | This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary". |
| cookielawinfo-checkbox-others | 11 months | This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other. |
| cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance | 11 months | This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance". |
| elementor | never | This cookie is used by the website's WordPress theme. It allows the website owner to implement or change the website's content in real-time. |
| JSESSIONID | session | Used by sites written in JSP. General purpose platform session cookies that are used to maintain users' state across page requests. |
| PHPSESSID | session | This cookie is native to PHP applications. The cookie is used to store and identify a users' unique session ID for the purpose of managing user session on the website. The cookie is a session cookies and is deleted when all the browser windows are closed. |
| viewed_cookie_policy | 11 months | The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data. |
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
| Cookie | Duration | Description |
|---|---|---|
| __atuvc | 1 year 1 month | This cookie is set by Addthis to make sure you see the updated count if you share a page and return to it before our share count cache is updated. |
| __atuvs | 30 minutes | This cookie is set by Addthis to make sure you see the updated count if you share a page and return to it before our share count cache is updated. |
| __cf_bm | 30 minutes | This cookie is set by CloudFlare. The cookie is used to support Cloudflare Bot Management. |
| __pvi | 1 day | This cookie is used for the implementation of the news content from other sites. |
| bcookie | 2 years | This cookie is set by linkedIn. The purpose of the cookie is to enable LinkedIn functionalities on the page. |
| lidc | 1 day | This cookie is set by LinkedIn and used for routing. |
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
| Cookie | Duration | Description |
|---|---|---|
| d | 3 months | This cookie tracks anonymous information on how visitors use the website. |
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
| Cookie | Duration | Description |
|---|---|---|
| __gads | 1 year 24 days | This cookie is set by Google and stored under the name dounleclick.com. This cookie is used to track how many times users see a particular advert which helps in measuring the success of the campaign and calculate the revenue generated by the campaign. These cookies can only be read from the domain that it is set on so it will not track any data while browsing through another sites. |
| _ga | 2 years | This cookie is installed by Google Analytics. The cookie is used to calculate visitor, session, campaign data and keep track of site usage for the site's analytics report. The cookies store information anonymously and assign a randomly generated number to identify unique visitors. |
| _ga_Y7XD5FHQVG | 2 years | This cookie is installed by Google Analytics. |
| _gat_UA-10686674-1 | 1 minute | This is a pattern type cookie set by Google Analytics, where the pattern element on the name contains the unique identity number of the account or website it relates to. It appears to be a variation of the _gat cookie which is used to limit the amount of data recorded by Google on high traffic volume websites. |
| _gid | 1 day | This cookie is installed by Google Analytics. The cookie is used to store information of how visitors use a website and helps in creating an analytics report of how the website is doing. The data collected including the number visitors, the source where they have come from, and the pages visted in an anonymous form. |
| ajs_anonymous_id | never | This cookie is set by Segment.io to check the number of ew and returning visitors to the website. |
| ajs_user_id | never | The cookie is set by Segment.io and is used to analyze how you use the website |
| ANON_ID | 3 months | This cookie is provided by Tribalfusion. The cookie is used to give a unique number to visitors, and collects data on user behaviour like what page have been visited. This cookie also helps to understand which sale has been generated by as a result of the advertisement served by third party. |
| jam_heavy_ga_session | 5 years | This cookie is installed by Google Analytics. |
| UserID1 | 3 months | The cookie sets a unique anonymous ID for a website visitor. This ID is used to continue to identify users across different sessions and track their activities on the website. The data collected is used for analysis. |
| uvc | 1 year 1 month | The cookie is set by addthis.com to determine the usage of Addthis.com service. |
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
| Cookie | Duration | Description |
|---|---|---|
| __tbc | 2 years | This cookie is used for measuring the efficiency of advertisement by registering data on visitors from multiple website. |
| _cc_aud | 8 months 26 days | The cookie is set by crwdcntrl.net. The purpose of the cookie is to collect statistical information in an anonymous form about the visitors of the website. The data collected include number of visits, average time spent on the website, and the what pages have been loaded. These data are then used to segment audiences based on the geographical location, demographic, and user interest provide relevant content and for advertisers for targeted advertising. |
| _cc_cc | session | The cookie is set by crwdcntrl.net. The purpose of the cookie is to collect statistical information in an anonymous form about the visitors of the website. The data collected include number of visits, average time spent on the website, and the what pages have been loaded. These data are then used to segment audiences based on the geographical location, demographic, and user interest provide relevant content and for advertisers for targeted advertising. |
| _cc_dc | 8 months 26 days | The cookie is set by crwdcntrl.net. The purpose of the cookie is to collect statistical information in an anonymous form about the visitors of the website. The data collected include number of visits, average time spent on the website, and the what pages have been loaded. These data are then used to segment audiences based on the geographical location, demographic, and user interest provide relevant content and for advertisers for targeted advertising. |
| _cc_id | 8 months 26 days | The cookie is set by crwdcntrl.net. The purpose of the cookie is to collect statistical information in an anonymous form about the visitors of the website. The data collected include number of visits, average time spent on the website, and the what pages have been loaded. These data are then used to segment audiences based on the geographical location, demographic, and user interest provide relevant content and for advertisers for targeted advertising. |
| _kuid_ | 5 months 27 days | The cookie is set by Krux Digital under the domain krxd.net. The cookie stores a unique ID to identify a returning user for the purpose of targeted advertising. |
| _rxuuid | 1 year | The main purpose of this cookie is targeting, advertesing and effective marketing. This cookie is used to set a unique ID to the visitors, which allow third party advertisers to target the visitors with relevant advertisement up to 1 year. |
| ANON_ID_old | 3 months | This cookie helps to categorise the users interest and to create profiles in terms of resales of targeted marketing. This cookie is used to collect user information such as what pages have been viewed on the website for creating profiles. |
| bscookie | 2 years | This cookie is a browser ID cookie set by Linked share Buttons and ad tags. |
| CMID | 1 year | The cookie is set by CasaleMedia. The cookie is used to collect information about the usage behavior for targeted advertising. |
| CMPRO | 3 months | This cookie is set by Casalemedia and is used for targeted advertisement purposes. |
| CMPS | 3 months | This cookie is set by Casalemedia and is used for targeted advertisement purposes. |
| CMST | 1 day | The cookie is set by CasaleMedia. The cookie is used to collect information about the usage behavior for targeted advertising. |
| DSID | 1 hour | This cookie is setup by doubleclick.net. This cookie is used by Google to make advertising more engaging to users and are stored under doubleclick.net. It contains an encrypted unique ID. |
| google_push | 5 minutes | This cookie is set by the Bidswitch. This cookie is used to collect statistical data related to the user website visit such as the number of visits, average time spent on the website and what pages have been loaded. This collected information is used to sort out the users based on demographics and geographical locations inorder to serve them with relevant online advertising. |
| i | 1 year | The purpose of the cookie is not known yet. |
| id | 3 months | The main purpose of this cookie is targeting and advertising. It is used to create a profile of the user's interest and to show relevant ads on their site. This Cookie is set by DoubleClick which is owned by Google. |
| IDE | 1 year 24 days | Used by Google DoubleClick and stores information about how the user uses the website and any other advertisement before visiting the website. This is used to present users with ads that are relevant to them according to the user profile. |
| IDSYNC | 1 year | This cookie is used for advertising purposes. |
| KADUSERCOOKIE | 3 months | The cookie is set by pubmatic.com for identifying the visitors' website or device from which they visit PubMatic's partners' website. |
| KTPCACOOKIE | 1 day | This cookie is set by pubmatic.com for the purpose of checking if third-party cookies are enabled on the user's website. |
| ljt_reader | 1 year | This is a Lijit Advertising Platform cookie. The cookie is used for recognizing the browser or device when users return to their site or one of their partner's site. |
| loc | 1 year 1 month | This cookie is set by Addthis. This is a geolocation cookie to understand where the users sharing the information are located. |
| mc | 1 year 1 month | This cookie is associated with Quantserve to track anonymously how a user interact with the website. |
| mt_mop | 1 month | Stores information about how the user uses the website such as what pages have been loaded and any other advertisement before visiting the website for the purpose of targeted advertisements. |
| personalization_id | 2 years | This cookie is set by twitter.com. It is used integrate the sharing features of this social media. It also stores information about how the user uses the website for tracking and targeting. |
| suid_legacy | 1 year | This cookie is used to collect information on user preference and interactioin with the website campaign content. This cookie is used for promoting events and products by the webiste owners on CRM-campaign-platform. |
| TDCPM | 1 year | The cookie is set by CloudFlare service to store a unique ID to identify a returning users device which then is used for targeted advertising. |
| TDID | 1 year | The cookie is set by CloudFlare service to store a unique ID to identify a returning users device which then is used for targeted advertising. |
| test_cookie | 15 minutes | This cookie is set by doubleclick.net. The purpose of the cookie is to determine if the user's browser supports cookies. |
| tluid | 3 months | This cookie is set by the provider AdRoll.This cookie is used to identify the visitor and to serve them with relevant ads by collecting user behaviour from multiple websites. |
| tuuid | 1 year | This cookie is set by .bidswitch.net. The cookies stores a unique ID for the purpose of the determining what adverts the users have seen if you have visited any of the advertisers website. The information is used for determining when and how often users will see a certain banner. |
| tuuid_lu | 1 year | This cookie is set by .bidswitch.net. The cookies stores a unique ID for the purpose of the determining what adverts the users have seen if you have visited any of the advertisers website. The information is used for determining when and how often users will see a certain banner. |
| uid | 5 months 27 days | This cookie is used to measure the number and behavior of the visitors to the website anonymously. The data includes the number of visits, average duration of the visit on the website, pages visited, etc. for the purpose of better understanding user preferences for targeted advertisments. |
| uuid | 1 year 27 days | To optimize ad relevance by collecting visitor data from multiple websites such as what pages have been loaded. |
| VISITOR_INFO1_LIVE | 5 months 27 days | This cookie is set by Youtube. Used to track the information of the embedded YouTube videos on a website. |
| wfivefivec | 1 year 1 month | The domain of this cookie is owned by Dataxu. The main business activity of this cookie is targeting and advertising. This cookie tracks the advertisement report which helps us to improve the marketing activity. |
| xbc | 2 years | This cookie is used for optmizing the advertisement on the website more relevant by analysing the user behaviour and interaction with the website. |
| YSC | session | This cookies is set by Youtube and is used to track the views of embedded videos. |
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
| Cookie | Duration | Description |
|---|---|---|
| __cflb | 23 hours | This cookie is used by Cloudflare for load balancing. |
| ajs_group_id | never | This cookie is set by Segment.io. The purpose of the cookie is currently not identified. |
| revengine-browser-token | session | RevEngine Data Tool. |
| UserMatchHistory | 1 month | Linkedin – Used to track visitors on multiple websites, in order to present relevant advertisement based on the visitor's preferences. |
| vicinity_id | 1 year 10 months 24 days 11 hours | Vicinity Advertising. |
