Weekly Newsletter on Circular Waste Management in Africa and OECD countries. #21-2024

South Africa

Recycling isn’t just about reducing waste – it’s about empowering people to become stewards of the environment, starting in their own homes. In South Africa, one of the biggest hurdles to achieving this is the knowledge gap surrounding recycling and waste management. Our mission is to bridge that gap. More to read: https://planttheseed.co.za/zero-waste-and-recycling-video-series/

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The South Africa’s first-ever?Circular Economy Accelerator (CEA) ?designed for small business entrepreneurs, initially as a pilot program and subsequently as a full-blown accelerator, funded by JP Morgan, the Embassy of Finland and Nedbank. More to read: https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/opinionista/2024-05-16-integrating-circular-economy-principles-can-help-boost-sas-long-term-economic-growth/

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France

It is estimated that 50,000 tons of waste are generated by big bags. These heavy-duty bags, made of PolyPropylene (PP) and PolyEthylene (PE), are flexible bulk containers that can hold 1 to 2 tons of goods. The agricultural sector, which uses it for transport (seeds, fertilizers, waste, etc.), consumes 10,000 tons alone. Aware of the environmental impact of this use, the sector has been organizing its own collection system for several years. Its three main players, A.D.I.VALOR, SOVEEA and ARES. NOVUS a French company from All Sun holding has developed and patented a recycling process. With some financing from ADEME and the Region, the new plant is to recycle 8 million used big-bags, i.e. 8,500 tons of recycled plastic materials per year, which will create 25 jobs, providing high-quality recycled raw materials (RPMs) and thus participating in the construction of a new waste recovery sector. Indeed, it will be able to recirculate, in the form of separate granules, polypropylene and polyethylene with properties and characteristics similar to virgin materials. Thus, these PRMs can be incorporated into the manufacture of new packaging, as a substitute for plastic material or used for other manufactures with the same need. Thanks to its strategic location, in the heart of Normandy, NOVUS is as close as possible to packaging consumption points and accessible by industrial users of recycled polypropylene and polyethylene. More to read: https://www.normandinamik.cci.fr/la-premiere-usine-francaise-de-recyclage-de-big-bags-inauguree-en-normandie/

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One year after the operational launch of the EPR for buildings, the PRO named Ecominéro, in charge of the Extended Producer Responsibility of Building Products and Materials (EPR PMCB), has very good figures. Created by and for professionals in the mineral construction materials sector (concrete, brick, aggregate, cement), Ecominéro has 2500 members, i.e. 90% of the marketers with a network with 2500 collection points. In 2023, 2.4 Mt of materials were collected and recycled by Ecominéro in France. These figures will certainly be exceeded with a forecast of 2.5 Mt recycled, at the end of the first 4 months of the year.?More to read: ?https://www.actu-environnement.com/ae/pdt/ecominero-rep-pmcb-anniversaire-bilan-demeure-dit-latte-1325.php4#xtor=AL-68

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Agricultural waste recovery is bogged down. At a time when parliamentary work is resuming on the draft law on agricultural sovereignty, a crucial subject, strangely, is still missing. That of the return of organic matter to the soil, at the crossroads of the problems of local authorities in terms of waste management and those of the agricultural world with regard to the impoverishment of the soil and the cost of imported chemical fertilizers. A file that has been bogged down for 5 years. More to read: https://www.lagazettedescommunes.com/927799/la-valorisation-agricole-des-dechets-senlise/

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VivaTech: a Bordeaux startup develops a technology to make plastic from waste. Dionymer is betting on the circular economy by developing a technology that transforms organic waste into biodegradable polymers, called "PHAs", using microorganisms. The startup will be present at the eighth edition of the VivaTech trade show. More to know: https://www.radiofrance.fr/franceinter/podcasts/l-info-de-france-inter/l-info-de-france-inter-9684136

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EU & Other countries

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11 proposals for an economic, environmental and sovereign model in Europe. Citeo proposes to go further in the revision of the Waste Framework Directive, which is limited to food waste and textiles. Among the different avenues defended is?the (i) ban on landfilling to give priority to reduction, reuse and recycling, (ii) regulation of recycled plastic materials and articles in contact with foodstuffs must be simplified (time taken to authorize a recycling process, which is currently between 2 and 7 years, must be shortened and monitoring strengthened to guarantee companies visibility that allows them to invest and innovate), (iii) certain products imported into the European Union subject to a carbon price equivalent to that applied to European manufacturers of these products (cement, iron and steel, aluminium, fertilisers, electricity and hydrogen). Citeo is also advocating for?to extend some waste facilities to the European Union's?greenhouse gas emissions trading system (municipal waste incineration and landfill facilities) in order to encourage reuse and recycling. More to read: https://cdurable.info/11-propositions-pour-un-modele-economique-environnemental-et-souverain-en-europe/?utm_content=184932306&utm_medium=social&utm_source=linkedin&hss_channel=lis-F9FC7LkIgu

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Colorado is poised to have one of the nation’s best recycling programs as it implements its best-in-class Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) program. The newly released Circular Action Alliance (CAA) report charts a course towards raising the recycling rate to as high as 50% by 2035. This is all possible because the state passed HB24-1355, creating a producer responsibility program for recycling in Colorado. The producer responsibility program created by HB22-1355 will reshape the recycling landscape by providing recycling access to all Coloradans by extending curbside recycling services to an additional 500,000 households in municipalities and provide recycling services to 200,000 more in rural areas – homes currently devoid of such services. Local governments will no longer be responsible for funding recycling infrastructure and services, and residents will no longer be burdened with paying directly for recycling collection. More to read: https://www.waste360.com/industry-insights/producer-responsibility-is-good-for-business-and-good-for-colorado

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·?????? This study from EMF focuses on business-to-customer returnable reusable packaging systems.?Customers buy packaged products, return the packaging when finished, and then the packaging is cleaned and refilled before being sold again. The study has been developed with more than 60 leading organizations including the European Investment Bank, national governments,?reuse?experts and major brands and retailers, such as The Coca-Cola Company, Danone, PepsiCo, and Unilever. EMF’s modelling suggests that only reuse systems “built collaboratively from the outset” can reach cost parity with single-use. Exactly what that collaboration will look like, however, is unclear, since the kinds of government regulations that could help foster it might be incompatible with the United States’ free-market ethos and antitrust laws. Internationally,?some cities and countries (like France) have done more than the US to promote reuse, but none have gone as far as what EMF is suggesting. More to read: https://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/scaling-returnable-packaging/overview

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·?????? Why Isn't Landfill Mining More Popular? Our garbage heaps are rich in metals and other materials, but landfill mining is rare. segregation of secondary resources at the source, such as from the selective collection and the carrying out of specific campaigns (e.g. e-waste, metal fractions). However, the main motivation for urban mining lies in the need to obtain materials classified as critical and available with frequency and quantity in secondary resources. For example, we have platinum in automotive catalysts, gold in printed circuit boards, and copper in wires and cables. More to read: https://gizmodo.com/landfill-mining-metal-recovery-trash-recycling-ewaste-1850151569#:~:text=Landfill%20mining%20is%20expensive%20relative,liquids%20can%20be%20significant%20barriers

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·?????? ‘It just didn’t work’: how businesses are struggling with re-useable packaging: To move away from a disposable culture, businesses need robust, efficient reuse systems, argue campaigners because of the small scale and disconnected nature of reuse schemes. Instead of pooling resources and employing just one or two large cleaning and logistics services, businesses have to choose between several competing initiatives – or in some cases have created and run their own programs. The result is a slew of incompatible containers. More to read: https://amp-theguardian-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/amp.theguardian.com/environment/article/2024/may/13/reusable-packaging-the-battle-to-get-companies-to-ditch-single-use-plastics

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·?????? Mixed reactions to Defra’s Simpler Recycling announcement. Collection and Transport ,?Legislation and Regulation ,?Sustainability . “The changes would allow all dry recycling to?be mixed together?and for food and garden waste to be combined,?and it would force?councils to collect residual waste at least once a fortnight.?This?is?bad?news for the public, who want their?efforts to recycle to count. It’s?bad news for British recycling businesses who need high-quality material to use – the paper recycling industry is warning that paper recycling rates could fall by nearly 20 percentage points by 2030 because of increasing contamination.?More to read: https://www.circularonline.co.uk/news/mixed-reactions-to-defras-simpler-recycling-announcement/

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·?????? This evidence based research demonstrates that the second-hand clothing (SHC) sector provides millions of people in Africa with accessible and flexible employment. As such the sector acts as an important driver of employment opportunities in African labor markets which otherwise remain almost wholly dependent on non-mechanized agriculture. It is found that over 1.28 million people are employed in the SHC sectors of Angola, Guinea-Bissau, Malawi, Mozambique and Zambia, with each ton of SHC imported sustaining on average 6.5 jobs. The sector provides over $73.5 million annually in tax revenues for these 5 countries. Contrary to the views of some economic commentators, our review of the literature indicates that the growth of used clothing imports is not a credible explanation for the erosion of textile manufacturing in Africa. A more plausible reason is that African economies currently face a comparative cost disadvantage relative to Asian producers. Experts largely agree that difficulties in accessing raw materials and the long-term failure to invest in plant and machinery, alongside a shortage of skills and human capital, have driven the inexorable decline of the textile industry in many parts of Africa. This decline was exacerbated by trade liberalization policies which led to an increased in-flow not only of SHC but more importantly of low quality imports of new clothes from Asian countries. More to read: https://www.humana.org/images/publications/job-creation.pdf

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·?????? Kubik, an Ethiopian-based startup focused on sustainable technologies, has secured seed funding of US$5.2 million. This investment marks the first multi-million-dollar commitment to an Ethiopian company within the climate and sustainability sector. Kubik’s innovative approach involves utilizing plastic waste to construct low-carbon buildings, thus removing this waste from the environment and fostering greener development across Africa. Their products, which are 40% cheaper per square meter than traditional cement-based constructions, also boast a fivefold smaller carbon footprint, substantially reducing greenhouse gas emissions. More to read: https://sustainabilitymea.com/kubik-closes-us5-2m-in-seed-funding-to-expand-plastic-recycling/?utm_source=Food+%26+Agri+Industry+Newsletters&utm_campaign=d3db90a0b2-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2022_10_01_07_55_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_529878f093-d3db90a0b2-&ct=t(EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_10_17_2022_13_34_COPY_01)&mc_cid=d3db90a0b2&mc_eid=UNIQID

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·?????? Glass bottle manufacturer Kioo Tanzania has secured a significant investment of US$60 million from the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and Standard Bank of South Africa. This financing aims to bolster Kioo’s production capacity to meet the rising demand for domestically and regionally glass bottles and containers. Under this partnership, IFC will provide a loan of up to US$45 million. In comparison, Standard Bank will contribute up to US$15 million, enabling Kioo to enhance its manufacturing capacity and tap into its export potential. With a focus on sustainability, Kioo plans to increase its use of recycled glass in production, thereby reducing energy consumption and promoting eco-friendly practices. More to read: https://sustainabilitymea.com/kioo-tanzania-secures-us60m-for-production-expansion/?utm_source=Food+%26+Agri+Industry+Newsletters&utm_campaign=d3db90a0b2-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2022_10_01_07_55_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_529878f093-d3db90a0b2-&ct=t(EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_10_17_2022_13_34_COPY_01)&mc_cid=d3db90a0b2&mc_eid=UNIQID

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·?????? Mondi, a global leader in sustainable packaging and paper, has partnered with Scan Sverige to create a polypropylene (PP) based mono-material packaging designed for recycling. Scan Sverige, with over a century of experience in responsible Swedish food production, started using Mondi’s WalletPack in March for its P?rsons brand’s range of sliced ham, salami, and plant-based products. Mondi’s WalletPack is a PP-based solution purposefully developed with recyclability in mind. This packaging aligns with Scan Sverige’s sustainability goals and the missions of NPA, an approved producer responsibility organization dedicated to advancing circular and traceable material recycling. Site Zero, Europe’s largest and most advanced plastic recycling facility located in Sweden, can effectively sort WalletPack, contributing to a circular economy. It replaces the previous unrecyclable multi-material pack consisting of PET-PE and PA-PE laminates. More to read: https://sustainabilitymea.com/mondi-introduces-eco-friendly-packaging-solution-for-scan-sveriges-meat-products/?utm_source=Food+%26+Agri+Industry+Newsletters&utm_campaign=d3db90a0b2-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2022_10_01_07_55_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_529878f093-d3db90a0b2-&ct=t(EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_10_17_2022_13_34_COPY_01)&mc_cid=d3db90a0b2&mc_eid=UNIQID

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·?????? India and its EPR certification procedure. More to read: https://medium.com/@agileregulatory/understanding-the-epr-certificate-for-import-a-comprehensive-guide-2d9c57dd43a1#:~:text=With%20an%20EPR%20certificate%2C%20importers%20are%20able%20to%3A,presenting%20proof%20of%20environmental%20regulatory%20compliance.%20More%20items

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·?????? Alpla has added a PET wine bottle to its product range. The 0.75-litre bottle weighs just 50 grams – around eight times less than the alternative made of glass. The first white wine bottles belonging to the Wegenstein winery recently went into circulation in the Austrian wine market, making them part of the Europe-wide bottle-to-bottle loop. The sustainable solution reduces carbon consumption by 38 percent compared to the glass alternative – and that‘s even without rPET content. The PET bottle is now also available in a 1-litre version. Alpla plans to already be manufacturing several million units a year from 2025 and is planning solutions made entirely of rPET. The plastic packaging meets all the quality requirements, is available as a transparent or a green bottle and is suitable for all types of wine. More to read: https://en.kunststoffe.de/a/product/recyclable-wine-bottle-made-from-pet-5770161

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·?????? Ghana_Social_Context_Assessment. The Ghana National Plastic Action Partnership’s Action Roadmap on plastic pollution revealed a 49% plastic waste collection rate in 2020 with only a fraction being properly managed or recycled, and the remaining 51% uncollected. ?To address the multifaceted challenges posed by plastic pollution, including its gendered impacts, the GH-NPAP undertook a Gender Analysis of the Plastics and Plastic Waste Sectors in Ghana in May 2021. The analysis uncovered significant roles played by men and women across various sectors of the plastic industry. However, notable data gaps persisted regarding the intersectional and inclusive social context of the informal plastics and plastics waste sectors. To address these disparities, the GH-NPAP with support from Global Affairs Canada conducted this Intersectional and Inclusive Social Context Assessment aimed at gaining a comprehensive understanding of the inequalities and marginalization faced by various groups within Ghana’s informal plastic value chain A mixed research approach which ran concurrently was used to conduct the study in six Regions of Ghana, namely, Greater Accra, Eastern, Western, Central, Ashanti and Northern. The mixed approach was used to collect qualitative and quantitative data to better understand the multifaceted nature of Ghana’s informal plastics and plastic waste sector. The findings unveiled a nuanced understanding of the informal plastic waste sector, highlighting the involvement of women, children, persons with disabilities, and marginalized populations. Key insights included gender-based disparities in earnings, the prevalence of child labor, and obstacles related to accessing essential services and markets. The study underscored the pervasive challenges of marginalization, recognition, and sexual and gender-based violence faced by waste pickers, particularly among youth and women. In response, actionable recommendations are provided to address these issues to enhance the well-being and empowerment of informal waste sector actors in Ghana. More to read: https://weforum.ent.box.com/s/3rhmg8vnlbzdtlx7tdzumnn7f2v8b5zs

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·?????? An extended producer responsibility program for packaging and paper is poised to become reality in Minnesota. More to read: https://www.packagingdive.com/news/minnesota-extended-producer-responsibility-packaging/716672/

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