Circular Thinking for Sustainable Waste Management in Africa
Article written by the Sustainable Consumption and Food Production team at ThirdWay Partners.
It is estimated that per annum, US$8.0 billion municipal solid waste (MSW) is generated in African urban areas. Of this amount, US$7.6 billion worth of valuable resources are currently lost through the disposal of waste, typically to open dumpsites. To make matters worse, the waste generated is primarily organic, with around 55 percent of it being food and green waste [1].
Surely the above facts spark your curiosity and make you question:
Why are tonnes of edible foods being wasted and not being incorporated back into value chains?
Why is this waste being disposed of in such a way that negatively affects the arable land that is left?
Amidst these curiosities lies an opportunity to adopt a transformative approach – the circular economy. By intertwining waste management practices with the principles of the circular economy, the whole of Africa has the potential to unlock sustainable solutions that not only address the waste crisis but also pave the way for a more prosperous and environmentally conscious future.
For the sake of context, it is important that before diving into the circular economy model, we showcase the difference between food loss, which occurs during the production and supply chain stages, and food waste which refers to edible food discarded at the retail or consumer level.
The Opportunity Behind the Circular Economy Model
The circular economy model encourages the reuse of products and materials in such a way that what would otherwise be considered waste, is used as a resource to manufacture new items.
TWP recently supported a bottling company located in Sub-Saharan Africa to redesign its sustainability strategy. The areas where the company has the biggest impact and where it can deliver the most added value were investigated and a new ESG Impact Strategy was defined. A key pillar of the new strategy focuses on preserving the value of their packaging materials by reducing, reusing and recycling where possible, while also ensuring that it is disposed of correctly.
One initiative under this pillar is the set-up of a bottle-to-bottle value chain via plastic collection and recycling to introduce recycled plastic in the packaging of new bottled drinks. Through this initiative an economic value of around US$630k is expected to be generated from recycled material, CO2 emissions are expected to be reduced and around 900 waste pickers are set to be trained/upskilled.
This is one example among many other opportunities that could aid in the reimagining of waste as a valuable resource while embracing circularity.
Looking at food systems specifically, three main pathways could be leveraged in order to help reduce the amounts of waste, particularly food waste, being generated:
Reduction of food loss: the quality of and access to storage containers, poor transport systems, and lack of refrigeration are among the factors that contribute to food losses and waste in Africa. By bringing production and consumption centres closer together through the increase in peri-urban farming and urban food processing, the amount of food lost could be significantly reduced.
Maximization of the use of materials: by using urban organic waste as feedstock for a low-carbon bioeconomy or as nutrients to support healthy soils, the rather expensive problem of organic waste could be turned into a profitable opportunity, while also supporting nature-positive agriculture. Anaerobic digestion, a biological process that breaks down organic materials, such as food waste, agricultural residues, or sewage sludge, in the absence of oxygen, could be used to generate biogas and rich biofertilizer in place of fossil fuel-derived fertilisers.
Regeneration of natural systems: One example of implementing this approach is by incorporating trees into the agricultural process to create an insect habitat that aids in pollination and pest management, while also allowing for more food to be produced on a smaller land area. However, methods to achieve regeneration vary depending on the unique context and geographic conditions.
In a scenario where businesses across food systems in Africa expend efforts into adopting the pathways above (amongst others) and reclaim as little as 25% of resources that would otherwise be considered as waste, it is estimated that of the 71 million tonnes (US$ 16.28 per tonne/US$1.1 billion total) of food and green waste generated annually, US$289.9 million could be recovered [1].
All-in-all, it can be assumed that the businesses that most likely will thrive in the future are those who intentionally choose to prioritize delivering exceptional value while minimizing resource usage and environmental impacts, successfully integrating the circular economy model.
[1] United Nations Environment Programme – Africa Waste Management Outlook 2018