Africa Green Growth Forum, Kigali, Rwanda, 26-30 November 2018 Circular Economy Opportunities in Africa Patrick Mwesigye, Regional Coordinator, Resource Efficiency and SCP Sub-programme UNEP Africa Office, Nairobi, Kenya
What is the Circular Economy? – Second hand clothes or vehicles? – Waste Recycling – Prevention – Waste Minimisation – Scavenging/recovery – Reuse – Waste as money in transition – In Africa for long time 4
Turning Challenges into Opportunities 20 th CENTURY 21 st CENTURY WASTE RESOURCE MANAGEMENT MANAGEMENT “How do we handle our discarded resources in ways which do not deprive future generations of “How do we get rid of our waste efficiently with minimum damage to public health and the some, if not all, of their value?” environment?” Source: Dr. Paul Connett, Zero Waste, Power Point
Quote from Waste Recycler 6
Youth and Circular Economy • The myth: “If we train youth, they will get jobs.” • Experience – 5, 10, 20 years of doing things the wrong way • Youth, frustrated and jobless, demand attention; • Unfortunate “certificate culture” and thus youth are chasing certificates and degrees • The private sector or government: who should solve youth jobs crisis (CEOs or Ministers for Youth?) • Role of Financial Institutions?? 7
Re-tooling and Re-skilling of Youth • Fridge repairers to ODS replacement (OzoneAction); • Waste scavengers to waste recyclers, composting, • Masons to biogas plant construction, solar water and solar PV installers; • Waste managers to waste-to-energy producers (biogas, briquettes, sustainable charcoal production) • Land disturbing (digging) to organic farmers • Forest degraders to tree planting (Green Wall) • Inefficient cook stoves to efficient cook stoves • E-waste collection to urban mining 8
Case Studies – Biogas in Ghana – Tannery waste management in Uganda – Plastics Recycling in Burkina Faso, Ghana and Mauritius – Leather Offcuts Recycling in Kenya – Composting in South Africa – E-waste recycling – Tyre recycling – Industrial Symbiosis • Get Get, No Want • Want Want, No Get 9
Dog chew from oxidised splits 10
Conclusion and Way Forward • CE an opportunity for jobs and wealth creation in Africa • Promotion of resource efficiency (demand side management) – tools/apps available • Need for re-tooling, re-skilling, mentorship and indigenous knowledge • Integrated planning at sub-national levels (GE toolkit) • Empowerment of women and youth • Awareness on benefits of Circular Economy • Financing of MSMEs (including start ups) • Concept of projects to programmes (scale up and replication) – no more pilots • Ecoinnovation
patrick.mwesigye@un.org
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