This archive report was first published on 9 December 2019.
As the world grapples with the growing problem of plastic waste, innovative approaches are emerging to manage this issue. In India, citizens can trade in four plastic bottles for a cup of tea, while in Rome, Ecuador, Istanbul, and Indonesia, people can get bus tickets and free transport for trading in plastic bottles.
According to McKinsey, plastic waste will grow to approximately 460 million tons per year by 2030 if the demand for plastics continues to grow by its current trajectory. In response, global consortiums and alliances are taking concerted steps towards creating value for plastic waste, reducing pollution, and kick-starting a circular economy.
A circular economy aims to keep the earth's scarce material resources in a continuous loop of use and re-use by eliminating 'waste' and creating new product cycles. Over 400 signatories, including global manufacturing companies such as L'Oreal, Unilever, and Nestle, have signed the New Plastics Economy Global Commitment, mooted in October 2018 by the UN Environment and Ellen MacArthur Foundation.
In Kenya, initiatives such as the Customer Bora Initiative and Project Shule are driving proper disposal awareness and incentivizing customers to trade in plastic bottles for food items. However, it is essential to contextualise these efforts within the global discourse on the circular economy and institute a tangible road map towards a circular economy.
In January, manufacturers and stakeholders in the plastic sector value chain initiated the Kenya Plastics Action Plan, which aims to ensure the environmentally sustainable use and recycling of plastics by applying the principles of a circular economy in Kenya. This plan acknowledges the benefits of plastic as a useful cost-effective material in Kenya's economy and takes the challenge of plastic waste as an opportunity to create jobs and industry in new economic models.
Industry's call is for Kenya to pursue a circular economy as a core element in its development approaches. Predictable enforcement of policies that promote regulation of the plastic value chain and encourage innovations and investments in the recycling industry is crucial for the success of this initiative.
As Mucai Kunyiha, vice chairman of the Kenya Association of Manufacturers, notes, 'Industry's call is for Kenya to pursue a circular economy as a core element in our development approaches.'
