Recycling Gap, Africa’s Perspective for Sustainable Waste Management

Abstract

Africa is a rising continent with a lot of development taking place having a youthful robust growing population. Africa’s urbanization is projected to double in the next decade with an equally increasing population in urban and cities surroundings. A growing population also intimates that waste generation will also double if not triple from the developments and human activities associated with a growing urban populace. Waste generation from a global level is expected to double by 2050 with cities and urban centers being the highest contributors to waste generation. Thus, Africa will require measures and policies that will address the future of sustainable waste management in its entirety. In this regard, Africa needs to take stock of their waste management infrastructure and highlight the gaps in existence. One of the problems that are crosscutting in Africa is the gap in full realization of the potential of recycling of waste and the economic and environmental gains attributed to recycling. In Africa, less than 10% of the countries having recycling plants that operate optimally as well as have infrastructure that can sustain proper waste management from financial to personnel. This chapter outlines the gap in recycling.

1. Introduction

The potential of Africa as a continent explicates the need for a robust waste management infrastructure if they are to maintain a clean environment overall [1, 2]. Africa being the second-largest continent characterized with a growing youthful population and increased economic development, waste generation will be inevitable as a result as of rapid urbanization and population increase [3]. In Africa, waste management could pose serious threats to humanity if not addressed sustainably due to change in consumption habits leading to high consumption of resources resulting in an increased waste generation [1, 4]. The rapid urbanization of Africa explicates the need for urgency in reviewing and equipping the waste management infrastructure by adopting the 3Rs (Reduce, Re-use, and Recycle) paying more attention on recycling [5, 6].

The tenet of Recycling comprises of collection and processing of waste into new products with the focus of having zero waste [2, 7]. Recycling equips people with an environmental ethic of avoiding the littering culture and sensitization of how a clean environment should be [7, 8]. The benefit of recycling range from the reduction of pollution and global warming, wealth creation, and ultimately lessens the amount of waste taken to landfills [3, 9].

Africa’s emergence in recycling is characterized by poverty, unemployment, and socioeconomic needs that arise from the demands of public and private demands especially for those in urban centers and cities [10, 11]. Interestingly, the waste generated in most urban centers and cities in Africa is recyclable waste however only a very small percentage have adopted recycling [12, 13]. Further, recycling is conducted by the informal waste pickers to subsidize their livelihoods from actively recovering valuable resources in the waste to sell to private sector [14].

Consequently, the use of informal sector to conduct recycling renders waste generated from urban centers and cities unproductive since they lack the capacity and technology to fully recycle [2, 5]. In this regard, it is estimated that approximately half of the waste material generated in Africa remains uncollected within Africa’s cities and towns, where it remains dumped on sidewalks, open fields, storm water drains, and rivers leading to mushrooming dumpsites [15].

Worth noting is that the primary causes of inadequate waste disposal and management in Africa are envisaged in weak strategic, institutional, and organizational structures which are perpetrated by limited skills that are essential to waste material management; inadequate budgets; feeble legislation; and lack of enforcement necessary for waste management [3, 7]. Additionally, low public awareness, increasing corruption, and conflict lead to political instability in various African countries; and generally a lack of political will to deal with waste material disposal and management more so recycling [6, 16].

African countries conventionally have managed waste disposal in landfills, indiscriminate dumping, open burning, and recycling where they deem fit [3, 15]. Unfortunately, the health and environmental impacts projected by increased levels of waste in Africa, exposure of the public to waste sites, are detrimental and raise concerns across the African continent [3, 16]. Environmental impacts include the fact that the dumped waste material may find its way into water bodies through leaching over time, sometimes into groundwater bodies, and thus causing water pollution further affecting biodiversity [2, 17].

However, there is a window of hope, spearheaded by the African Union (AU), in their strategic socio-economic transformation framework for the continent, titled; Africa We Want (Agenda 2063), 2015, one of the targets is achieving a recycling rate of 50% of urban waste by 2023 and growing urban waste recycling industries. South Africa is a model state of recycling in Africa, at a rate of 30% on solid waste such as plastic, and bottles [5, 6].

Developed countries have made tremendous progress in recycling which has helped them manage the problem of waste management [1, 18]. This is done through controlling the waste generation, use of technology and research in energy recovery, recycling, reducing waste taken to landfills, promoting of 3R concept (Reduce, reuse, and recycle), and encouraging the use of recycled products by the public which impacting negatively on the environment. Germany, Sweden, and Norway are model countries in recycling; their recycling rate is at 70–85% [19]. Thus, the gap in recycling in Africa is multifaceted and requires collaborative engagement and partnership to enhance recycling [7, 20].

1.1 Recycling and sustainable development in Africa

Sustainable development according to the Brundtland Commission encompasses environment, social, and economic intersections for there to be sustainability and more so in waste management [11]. The role of recycling in sustainable solid waste management provides opportunities to enhance sustainable development envisioned by the commission [21, 22]. The issue of solid waste management in Africa is portrayed as a major developmental challenge whose serious consequences impact severely environmental quality, public health, fisheries, agriculture, and sustainable development [16, 18]. The introduction of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) gives African countries opportunities to enhance recycling as a key component of sustainability through improvement of solid waste infrastructures, skills, and expertise that are necessary to tackle the amount and complexity of solid waste being produced [23, 24]. The potential that recycling has in accelerating sustainable development can be a reality in that of the world’s biggest dumpsites, Africa has 19 of them out of 50 [16, 18]. Further, the high population growth in Africa and rapid urbanization projected to double by 2050 and waste generation exceeding 160 million tons by 2025 explicates why recycling can be the stepping stone to sustainable development [9, 25].

Linking recycling with SDGs, Africa’s poor waste management practices in particular the widespread dumping of wastes in water bodies and uncontrolled dump sites, aggravates the problems of generally low sanitation levels across the continent [8, 26]. Thus, water bodies can get reprieve if recycling was upscaled and better environmental ethics be disseminated to the communities [11, 27].

Changing the perspective of the rapid urbanization in Africa, recycling brings in a new avenue of job creation and improvement of the economic outlook for both rural and urban populations [25, 28]. Additionally, as urbanization increases, the need for different infrastructure development arises thereby giving rise for the inclusion for sustainable solid waste management practices which could foster the potential of recycling [6, 7].

The focus on having sustainable global cities which are anchored on SDG 11 ensures that the potency of recycling can be adopted in land use planning which will also cater for the growing percentage of informal settlements around these cities [7, 29]. Worth noting is that the growth of informal settlements provides workforce needed in recycling plants where in the long run it improves their sources of livelihoods underpinning SDG1 on ending poverty [30, 31].

Interestingly, waste management infrastructure is largely nonexistent in rural areas of Africa which gives opportunities for better avenues of managing their wastes as they get to be urbanized [10, 23]. Improvements in infrastructure will aid in combating the high costs of health services, and hence alleviate poverty, and reduce rural-urban migration from a clean environment in line with SDG 3, 15, and 1 [30, 32].

Partnerships in reducing the gap between waste management policy and legislation and actual waste management practices can be enhanced through participatory, inclusive stakeholder engagements that foster the target points of SDG17 [10, 25]. Partnership and networking will assist in sharing technological know-how, best practices that are sustainable and best fits within varied contexts [11, 20].

In Africa, the adoption of technology is fast growing more so in the use of ICT, which by itself gives further rise to E-waste, an addition to the other waste. Adopting recycling practices especially in E-waste provides for employment opportunities and manages the consumption trends in a sustainable manner [7, 23]. The understanding of the changing lifestyles and consumption patterns of the growing urban middle class highlights increasing the complexity and composition of waste streams in Africa necessitating the inclusion of recycling for sustainable development [18, 21].

Sustainable development looks at a powered economy and therefore energy is an important aspect for growth of urban and peri-urban areas for which recycling becomes useful in generation of green energy such as Biogas which is environmentally friendly [5, 32]. Recycling enhances Biogas and compost production from organic waste fractions as a best practice, and progress is being made by developing countries attaining SDG 7 on energy [30, 31].

Moreover, these innovations in waste management for Africa and globally through recycling are meeting many of the SDGs by minimizing greenhouse gas emissions which are helping to alleviate the climate crisis, conserving oceans and land to preserve marine and wildlife, and ensuring healthy lives and promoting well-being. These benefits from the recycling of waste enhance the capacity of countries in attainment of SDG 13, 14, 15, 3, 4, 2, 1, and 17 specifically and contributing extensively on the other SDGs [5, 21, 33]. Additional benefits from innovations in plastic waste management one of the good examples of what recycling can do include energy conservation, reduced petroleum use, and reduced landfill use [7, 33].

Interlinkages of recycling and sustainable development give hope of a better future for generations to come and answers the many questions arising on humanity existence and its role in restoration of earth [33]. Recycling has power to transform Africa to a green continent which has exudes in environmental sustainability in waste management.

2. Recycling in Africa, Case of Rwanda and South Africa

2.1 Recycling in Rwanda

Environmental protection is the pillar of waste management system in Rwanda and it is a collective responsibility involving all the stakeholders; private sector, the public, and Government agencies. Policies on solid waste management are intertwined with aspects of Rwandan culture and traditional practices. Umuganda (community work), cleaning the environment, has taught environmental values and ethics, thus creating a sustainable system [22, 23, 24, 25].

Globally recycling is used to address the challenges of waste management especially controlling the amount of waste taken to landfills and reducing GHG emissions from uncontrolled dumping and open burning, which impact negatively on the environment and human health [3, 15].

Many countries increasingly employ sustainable waste removal and management technologies in Africa by exploiting evolving waste recycling techniques, though the recycling rate is lower [5, 6]. Recent advances in recycling entail innovative solutions to unlock socioeconomic opportunities, looking at waste as generating income [5, 6, 19]. Furthermore, these countries have started recovery policies and regulations to reduce unsustainable waste disposal—for example, Rwanda and South Africa [19, 20, 34].

Rwanda has evolved as one of the African countries pioneering in waste management and recycling, taking a practical system in which the environment and climate change are at the core of all policies, programs, strategies, and plans as realized in her vision 2012, 2020–2050 thus championing circular economy [34, 35, 36].

Rwanda has the most significant Green Fund (FONERWA) in Africa, one of the first national environment and climate change investment funds in Africa that advances innovation investments in public and private projects that initiate transformative change in Rwanda, for example, recycling [37, 38].

Rwanda has done well to mitigate plastic pollution and was the first East African Country to ban single plastic use in 2008 and revised in 2019 [20, 39]. Plastic waste is a severe global environmental challenge; only 15% is recycled. It negatively impacts the environment and affects plants, animals, and people. Plastic takes long to degrade, and its effects are prolonged. Thus, plastic recycling is a remedy to address the problem [20, 36, 40]

Plastic recycling in Rwanda is a collaborative engagement between the Government, private sector, international agencies, and local actors [40]. To effectively enhance plastic recycling, the Government of Rwanda signed the New Plastics Economy Global Commitment Report 17 with European Union (EU) to eliminate endless packaging and stimulate demand for recycled plastics. Recycling infrastructure is in place and reinforced by innovative technologies (Figure 1) [23, 40].

Figure 1.

How recycling is done in a recycling facility in Rwanda (Source: The East African, Johnson Kanamugire, January 21st, 2018).

Rwanda has invested in electronic waste management and recycling waste from electronics like computers and mobile phones. E-waste management is challenging in Africa, has hazardous materials, accelerating severe impacts on human health and the environment. It contributes to 5% of greenhouse emissions [41, 42]. This is worsened by a lack of knowledge, absence of environmental policies, and insufficient funding; thus, e-waste is disposed of indiscriminately in open grounds and dumpsites (Figure 2) [40, 43].

Figure 2.

E-waste íecycling in Rwanda (Souíce: ľíade foí Development News by EIÏ, Michelle Kovacevic, July 06, 2020).

Rwanda’s electronic waste policy and regulatory framework made recent advances in electronic waste infrastructure high-tech and involve dismantling and recycling facilities, able to process up to 10,000 metric tons of e-waste annually, thus championing a circular economy in Africa [41, 44]. However, this sector is unexploited, and it is now starting to take off, and a lot has to be done in terms of research, policies, financial management, and funding [39, 40].

Africa has the potential for waste-to-energy, producing power from waste material. Recycling energy from waste is challenging and requires adequate waste management infrastructure, including the 3Rs; reducing, reusing, and recycling [38]. Waste to energy plants is expensive to build and is capital intensive. Most African countries cannot afford it [41, 44].

Rwanda has taken initiatives to recycle waste to produce energy in partnership with international investors though the focus is on biogas digesters to convert energy using organic waste [37, 41].

2.2 Recycling in South Africa

South Africa has made great efforts in managing waste management by enacting proactive policies, the white paper of 2000 and the National environmental management Act of 2008 established the integrated solid waste management system, the focus is on waste minimization, increasing collection coverage, and reducing waste taken to landfills [15, 45].

South Africa is among the top recycling countries in the world. South Africa’s recycling industry is robust and economically oriented with a structured institutional and policy framework, focusing on recycling to protect the environment and human health [2, 17, 33]. This is reinforced by the National Environmental Management Act (NEMA) of 1998 and the National Waste Management Strategy (NWMS) of 2016, which propagates waste prevention through 3Rs, reduce, reuse and recycle; and responsible stewardship for the environment [15, 45].

South Africa’s waste management is sustainable, with higher collection coverage of household waste at 59% in its metropolitan cities, Cape Town, Johannesburg, and Pretoria. Sustainable waste management is vital in recycling, and developed countries like Germany, with a higher recycling rate, can attest to that [7, 9].

South Africa’s recycling industries recycle paper, steel, bottles, plastics, and energy being environmental champions in Africa in those areas. However, recycling is done from landfills, and informal waste pickers are the backbone of this activity where they retrieved recyclable resources, thus supporting formal waste management systems. This is done at all disposal streams; streets, landfills, open dumps, municipal trucks, or by itinerant consumers (Figure 3) [46, 47].

Figure 3.

Plastic Recycling in South Africa (Source: Recycling International, Kirstin Linnenkoper, August 12, 2019).

South Africa are champion in Africa’s circular plastic industry, with an input recycling rate of 43.7%, above that of Europe’s recycling rate, which presently is at 31.1% [24, 45]. The plastics industry is well organized under plastics SA with a mandate to foster a vibrant and sustainable industry. The organization takes care of recycling, resource consumption, and energy recovery [48].

However, plastic recycling has challenges, ranging from mixed plastics streams like plastic trays used in food packaging and hard-to-remove remains, which are very difficult to recycle because of a lack of equipment and is capital intensive. The recycled product cannot pay this off. However, developed countries can recycle these plastics for oil or energy using available incinerator technologies, which explicates the gap in recycling [45, 46].

South Africa’s metal packaging recycling is vibrant, with a recycling rate of 75%, a global champion in metal packaging recycling. Recycled metal packaging includes food tins, tin foil, and aluminum beverage cans [33, 49].

The extended producer responsibility (EPR) fund introduced by the South Africa Government has helped accelerates recycling in the paper and packaging industry and generates employment. The industry also invests in research to enhance the development of alternative usage for recycled paper and improve its quality [18, 21, 50].

South Africa recycles bottles through returnable Bottle Systems, where glass bottles are returned to the beverage producer for hygiene cleaning, its inspected and refilled. This system is one of the well-organized in the world [45, 48]. Glass is recycled using a system of closed-loop, recycling material from the same product, and the recycling rate of glass is at 40% [48, 50].

Despite being an environmental giant in recycling, South Arica faces challenges of access to quality and clean materials before they are retrieved at the landfills. This has been worsened by laxity on the regulation to separate waste at the source, making the process expensive, explicates the gap in recycling in Africa [22, 49, 50].

2.3 Challenges of recycling in Africa

Africa continent has done well in the legislative structure, 60% has vibrant policies, and regulations on waste management which is the framework in which recycling can ensue but they are geared toward waste disposal to dumpsites and landfills [18, 47].

The continent continues to face the challenges of unsustainable waste management since the sector is given less political priority and waste management systems have resulted into waste being seen as of no value that it can provide to local economies, impacting on environment and public health [18, 48].

Consequently, the African continent has not fully exploited the potential of waste recycling and the benefits derived from recycling in terms of economic and environmental, this is a major gap in recycling and challenges faced [45, 46].

Recycling is done by informal waste pickers, who collect 90% of recyclables in the continent cities, on average, they assemble between 20% and 50% of generated waste and form the waste management supply chain, collecting, sorting and selling discarded waste [46, 51]. However, their activities remain in the periphery of waste management system, no targeted incentives to boast their contribution in the waste management landscape.

They face social stigma, harassment, and abuses from municipal and security officials, impacting negatively on their operations [25, 46, 51]. There is an urgent need for this group to be integrated into the waste management landscape, as stakeholders by being formally organized into community-based organizations (CBO) and self-help groups, thus enhancing their contribution, increasing employment opportunities and sustainable waste management, and key to unlocking these opportunities [25, 27].

There are more opportunities that can be created through recycling organic waste in Africa which forms 70 to 80%, and plastics 13%. However, this area has been overlooked, the continent should take a paradigm shift, and focus on organic recycling [15]. Recycling organic waste will offer more economic and social opportunities, it is not capital intensive and more accessible, for instance, recycling agricultural waste for fuel briquettes, biogas generates clean cooking energy to charcoal use, thus reducing deforestation and may help minimize indoor pollution, environmental degradation, which contributes to greenhouse gas emissions, averting the effects of climate change [27].

The African continent can explore formal plastic recycling, using environmentally friendly technologies to treat that waste [42, 48]. It should involve public-private partnership, incentives be given to boast their confidence for increased investments in this sector, creating employment opportunities and improving livelihoods [48]. Africa’s major economies, Nigeria, Morocco, and South Africa, have taken up plastic recycling. South Africa's plastic recycling has created over 4000 and 30000 jobs, both direct and indirect, and added an additional $450 million into the economy [42, 45, 48].

Projections, environmentally shows that to meet global developmental supplies into the future, require a 200% increase in natural resource removal by 2050, a big challenge where people have overexploited the natural resources, including Africa, through environmental degradation [11, 22]. This can be addressed through increased recycling to reduce the extortion of new resources for each production cycle and Africa should take those initiatives. Reforms must be made to make new legislation and reinforce weaker ones [18, 51].

3. Conclusion

The future for Africa’s waste management is vibrant and the opportunities to increase recycling as a sustainable avenue in waste management are yet to be seized. Based on the fact the majority of waste generated is recyclable, the adoption of technology and building capacities in waste management gives hope to better environments and improved health of people. Moreover, the economic pillar of waste management through recycling forecasts the numerous jobs and wealth creation avenues that the sector can bring about. The mindset shift required to adopting and scaling up recycling as a viable option still requires more commitment from every sector for sustainable development to be a reality. Africa’s potential in recycling has not been fully realized portending the numerous untapped opportunities.

Further research can be focused on the following:

1. Dissemination of technologies in Africa for Sustainable Waste Management through Recycling.

2. Assessment of Governance Structures for Adoption of Efficient Waste Management through Recovery and Recycling.

3. Examine the socio-cultural attributes that enhance recycling in Africa’s context.