The ideas helping African cities reduce waste

Every day, African cities produce mountains of waste: plastic bags, bottles, food scraps, packaging, old phones, construction debris. With cities growing fast, the mountains are getting bigger.

The World Bank's "What a Waste 2.0" report projected that waste in Sub-Saharan Africa could roughly triple by 2050. Much of it is not collected, and much of what is collected ends up in open dumps.

But across the continent, people are fighting back with clever ideas — some high-tech, many beautifully simple.

What ideas are helping African cities reduce waste — and what can we all learn from them?

The size of the challenge

• The UNEP Africa Waste Management Outlook (2018) found that a large share of waste in Africa ends up in uncontrolled dumpsites and that only a small share (often estimated around 4%) is recycled.
• Organic waste (food, garden waste) often makes up more than half of municipal waste in African cities — a huge opportunity for composting.
• Plastic pollution is growing fast, clogging drains, harming animals and polluting oceans.

Organic waste makes up a large share — often more than half — of municipal solid waste in many African cities. (UNEP, Africa Waste Management Outlook, 2018) If it's composted instead of dumped, waste volumes could drop dramatically.

Idea 1: Pay people to recycle

In Lagos, Nigeria, Bilikiss Adebiyi-Abiola co-founded Wecyclers in 2012. Collectors on cargo bicycles picked up recyclables from households, who earned points redeemable for rewards like food, household items or phone credit.

The idea was simple: make recycling worth something. Wecyclers reached thousands of households and received international awards. We featured this story in The people making African cities easier to live in.

Similar "waste for value" models exist across Africa — from paying for plastic bottles to exchanging waste for school fees or health insurance in some pilot programmes.

Idea 2: Ban single-use plastic bags

Many African countries have banned or restricted plastic bags. Rwanda banned them in 2008 — one of the earliest bans in the world. Kenya introduced one of the world's strictest bans in 2017, with heavy penalties.

UNEP has noted that Africa has among the highest number of countries with plastic bag bans or restrictions of any region.

Bans aren't perfect — enforcement varies, and smuggling happens. But where they work, streets and drains become visibly cleaner, and people adopt reusable bags.

Joke break: When Kenya banned plastic bags, a man was reportedly seen carrying his groceries in his hat, his shirt and his arms. His wife said, "Next time, take the basket." He said, "Which basket?" She said, "The one your grandmother used for 40 years." Innovation sometimes means remembering.

Idea 3: Recognise waste pickers

Across Africa, informal waste pickers collect, sort and sell recyclables. They're often the backbone of recycling — yet they work in dangerous conditions, earn little and face stigma.

Cities and organisations are starting to recognise them:

• Integrating waste pickers into official collection systems.
• Providing protective equipment and ID cards.
• Organising cooperatives for better prices.

In South Africa, the African Reclaimers Organisation advocates for waste pickers' rights and recognition. Recognising waste pickers improves recycling rates and dignity.

"There is no such thing as 'away.' When we throw anything away it must go somewhere." — Annie Leonard, The Story of Stuff

Idea 4: Compost organic waste

With organic waste making up so much of city waste, composting is a huge opportunity:

• Household composting for gardens.
• Market composting (markets produce tonnes of vegetable waste daily).
• Municipal composting sites.
• Black soldier fly farming: larvae eat organic waste and become animal feed — a growing business in Kenya, Ghana, Nigeria and elsewhere.

Compost improves soil for urban farming and reduces methane from dumps.

Idea 5: Turn waste into products

Entrepreneurs are turning waste into valuable products:

• Plastic into building materials: companies in Kenya (such as Gjenge Makers, founded by Nzambi Matee) turn plastic waste into paving bricks.
• Plastic into furniture, fashion and accessories.
• Tyres into sandals and furniture.
• Glass into beads (a traditional craft in Ghana — Krobo beads are often made from recycled glass).
• E-waste into repaired devices and recovered metals. See Why repair skills matter for Africa's tech future.

Idea 6: Art from waste

Artists are turning waste into powerful statements:

• Beninese artist Romuald Hazoumè makes masks from plastic jerrycans. See The artists telling stories of today's Benin.
• Ghanaian artist El Anatsui creates huge shimmering sculptures from bottle caps and aluminium, exhibited in major museums worldwide.
• Recycled art workshops in schools teach creativity and environmental awareness.

Art changes how people see waste: not as rubbish, but as material.

Idea 7: Better collection systems

Waste can't be recycled if it's not collected. Cities are improving collection by:

• Door-to-door pre-collection by small enterprises (common in West African cities, including Cotonou).
• Separate bins for organic and recyclable waste.
• Mobile apps and USSD for scheduling pickups and payments.
• Community collection points.

In Cotonou, the SGDS coordinates waste management and cleanliness in Grand Nokoué, working with pre-collection services. See What it takes to keep a street clean together.

Idea 8: Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR)

EPR means companies that produce packaging are responsible for collecting and recycling it. Several African countries — including Kenya, South Africa and Nigeria — have introduced or developed EPR rules for packaging.

The idea: if a drinks company sells millions of bottles, it should help pay for their collection and recycling — not just leave it to cities and citizens.

What still needs to change

Despite great ideas, big challenges remain:

• Limited funding for waste systems.
• Weak enforcement of rules.
• Informal dumping and burning.
• Low recycling markets for some materials.
• Imports of used goods and e-waste.
• Lack of data on waste.

Solutions need governments, businesses, communities and individuals working together.

What you can do

• Refuse: say no to plastic bags and straws when you can.
• Reduce: buy less packaging; buy in bulk.
• Reuse: use containers, bags and bottles again.
• Repair: fix before replacing.
• Recycle: give plastics, metals and glass to collectors.
• Compost: turn food scraps into soil.
• Support: buy from businesses that use recycled materials.
• Speak up: ask your commune for better collection and recycling.

An illustrative neighbourhood project

In an illustrative Cotonou neighbourhood (illustrative), a youth group partners with a pre-collection service and a plastic recycler. They give every household two sacks: one for plastics, one for everything else. Every two weeks, the plastic sacks are collected and weighed. Households earn points for phone credit.

After six months, the group has collected several tonnes of plastic, the neighbourhood's drains are clearer, and three young people have jobs as collectors. The project isn't perfect — some households forget, and plastic prices go up and down — but it proves that waste can be a resource.

Sachet water: a very West African dilemma

In many West African cities, drinking water sold in small plastic sachets ("pure water") is cheap, convenient and everywhere. It helps millions of people access drinking water. But each sachet becomes a small piece of plastic waste — and billions are used every year.

Ideas to reduce the impact:

• Collection schemes that pay for used sachets, which can be recycled into new plastic products.
• Encouraging refillable water containers where safe water is available.
• Improving public water supply so fewer people need sachets. See Clean water and the choices communities make.
• Producer responsibility: sachet water companies funding collection and recycling.

The sachet shows that waste problems are often linked to other problems — in this case, access to safe water. Real solutions look at both.

Schools as waste champions

Schools are powerful places to change habits:

• Separate bins for plastic, paper and organic waste.
• A school compost pit feeding a school garden.
• Recycling competitions between classes.
• Art projects using waste materials.
• Students teaching families at home.

Children who learn to sort and reduce waste often become the family's "waste police." Parents may complain — but the habits spread. See How teachers bring real problems into lessons.

Waste is a resource in the wrong place

African cities face a waste challenge — but also a huge opportunity. Every bottle, bag and banana peel can become a job, a product, compost or art. The ideas already exist. The next step is growing them.

Keep reading: How one small community action grows, The hidden work behind an African made product, and our Africa & Action section.

Questions

How much waste is recycled in Africa?

Only a small share — UNEP has cited around 4% — while much waste ends up in open dumps or isn't collected.

Which African countries have banned plastic bags?

Many, including Rwanda (2008) and Kenya (2017); dozens of African countries have bans or restrictions.

What is Extended Producer Responsibility?

A policy that makes producers responsible for collecting and recycling the packaging they put on the market.