The video highlights three Circular Economy initiatives in the Eastern and Southern Africa region. Aiming to reduce the amount of plastic leaking into the marine environment, these initiatives were funded through the IUCN Marine Plastics and Coastal Communities (MARPLASTICCs) project, supported by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida).

In Kenya, the Kilifi County Circular Economy Enterprises initiative is implemented by EcoWorld Recycling, an initiative of Watamu Marine Association. 3R manages the 3R Ecopoint Network project in Vilanculos, Mozambique and the WILDTRUST runs the Blue Port Project in the Durban Port in South Africa.

Combined with a motion graphic introduction on community’s involvement in Circular Economy, the footage seeks to highlight the work of local communities and the contribution that small-scale initiatives play in the Circular Economy. Each of the three stories in the video aims to highlight different elements of engaging action for a more inclusive Circular Economy. It includes the creation of a dynamic plastic waste value chain between the local community and tourism industry, engagement with ministries, plastic waste recyclers and communities to ensure their sustainability and the employment of youth in the collection and processing of waste.

“It is important for us to highlight the work of these small-scale initiatives and give a voice to people working towards circularity at the local level. Often in developing economies and economies in transition, the most urgent and cost-effective approach to minimizing plastic waste leakage lies in separation of waste at source, increased collection and transport infrastructure, and safe processing, treatment and management. A focus on waste management presents an opportunity for greater involvement of communities in the Circular Economy, which is often still disregarded in practice,” Peter Manyara, IUCN Regional Project Officer, Marine Plastics & Coastal Communities.

IUCN’s experience in implementing Circular Economy Initiatives has resulted in developing an effective model that addresses the social equity gap often persisting in Circular Economy through community-based actions aimed at reducing plastic waste leakage into the marine environment. The project contributes to highlighting the unseen economic value of plastic waste that could otherwise support livelihoods. Africa loses approximately US$7.6 billion worth of valuable resources through the disposal of waste each year (Africa waste Management Outlook 2018). The hallmark of the MARPLASTICCs concept is the promotion of collaborative actions of civil society with government and the private sector to address locally relevant waste management issues within a common framework. As such, the five Circular Economy initiatives supported as part of the MARPLASTICCs project have so far contributed to close to 100 tons of cumulative waste collected and thus prevented from reaching a doomed fate in the marine environment.

For more videos on the MARPLASTICCs-funded Circular Economy initiatives, see here Circular Economy Projects | IUCN 
 

About MARPLASTICCS

In 2017, with generous support from the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida), IUCN launched the Marine Plastics and Coastal Communities initiative (MARPLASTICCs), an initiative in Africa and Asia that works in five countries: Kenya, Mozambique, South Africa, Thailand, and Viet Nam. The project consists of four pillars: capacity building through circular economy projects, production of knowledge products – including the national guidance and reports on plastic pollution hotspotting, economic and regulatory policy analysis in each country, and connecting with the private sector with a business component to help businesses identify plastic leakage in their value chains.

To learn more, please visit: https://www.iucn.org/theme/marine-and-polar/our-work/close-plastic-tap-programme/marplasticcs    

Supported by Sida

Photo: SIDA