Meet the Brands Turning Africa's Plastic Trash Into Treasure

Today, plastics are everywhere. Near Everest's peak. In the world's deepest ocean. At the North Pole. In our blood. Plastic production increased from 2 million tons in 1950 to 348 million tons in 2017, according to research by Pew Charitable Trusts. It is estimated that every minute, 1 million plastic bottles are sold around the world. It’s now a global industry valued at $522.6 billion—production is expected to reach 1.1 billion tons by 2050. Plastics are even finding their way into our bodies: Infants born today have 10 to 20 times higher microplastic concentrations in their stool than adults, a study published by the American Chemical Society shows. In response, nonprofit groups and brands in Africa are stimulating industry-led innovation, dialogue and collaboration to find new ways to use plastic waste that cuts down on pollution and meets the needs of a population facing some of the worst effects of climate change. Lindsay Lohan Ditches the Plastics in New Ad for Allbirds Though environmentally sound end-of-life management of plastic waste through recycling and energy recovery is still in an early stage in many African countries, innovative recycling projects in Kenya and Nigeria offer a glimpse into what could be possible with more coordination between brands, government agencies and nonprofits. "There's an urgent need to prevent this sort of pollution," Paolo Bray, executive director of the World Sustainability Organization, told Adweek. The world has far fewer plastics recycling plants than is necessary to meet the need, he noted, but the problem requires innovative solutions beyond traditional recycling methods. Building a sustainable plastics ecosystem In Kenya, major brands including Coca-Cola and L’Oréal have joined non-governmental agencies, trade groups and the country’s environmental agency to curb plastic pollution. The initiative, called the Kenya Plastics Pact, is based on the framework laid out by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s vision for a circular plastics economy. It aims to support businesses in redesigning, recycling and waste management while increasing sustainable economic development and resilience. Members of the pact have signed on to a series of goals for the plastics economy in Kenya, including reaching a 40% recycling rate for plastic packaging and 15% recycled content across all plastic packaging by 2030. Currently, the pact has 34 members and supporters. In addition to Coca-Cola and L’Oréal, it includes recycling and ocean cleanup company Rintz Industries, waste management and composting company Taka Taka Solutions and environmentally focused recycler Vintz Plastics. It’s received funding from the MAVA Foundation, a Swiss conservation nonprofit, and the U.K. government’s research and innovation arm. But while these solutions are important, they only make a small dent in the enormous plastic problem the world faces. A recent report shows Kenya is one of Africa's top plastic waste producers, generating over 1 million metric tons per year. Nairobi, the country's capital, generates an estimated 2,400 tons of solid waste daily—about 20% of which is plastic—most of which ends up in landfills. Just 8% of plastic waste is recycled, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature. The Kenya Plastics Pact is aiming to recast the country's waste as a resource that can offer economic opportunity. "A lot of awareness creation has been made to increase the value extraction from waste," Josephine Wawira, communications lead at Kenya Plastics Pact, told Adweek. But much of this has to begin at the policy level, Wawira said, citing the National Waste Management Policy. When brands can exemplify good practices in the circular economy, that can inspire other businesses to adopt more sustainable models or find innovative ways to handle the waste they generate. Coca-Cola Wants You to Recycle Soda Bottles. That Won’t Keep Plastics Out of Your Body One plastic brick at a time In Nigeria, about 2.5 million tons of plastic waste is generated each year, according to a 2021 report from the United Nations Industrial Development Organization. Almost 513 million tons of plastics wind up in the oceans every year, and 80% of that is from just 20 countries—one of which is Nigeria, according to World Atlas. One way to repurpose plastic waste is by converting it into building materials that can be used to construct homes, schools, community centers and storage facilities. The International Support Network for African Development (ISNAD-Africa) is a Nigerian nonprofit that is building homes made from repurposed plastic bottles. "We are on a project to construct a green building with plastic and powered by solar energy. The project requires about 80,000 plastic bottles," said Adedoyin Adeleke, ISNAD-Africa’s executive director and founder. This comes at a time when it is difficult for low-income earners to develop land due to the high cost of cement—the main material used in conventional building construction. Built by packing plastic bottles with soil or sand, and then stacking and binding them with mud and string, plastic bottle houses are suitable to the hot Nigerian climate because the sand insulates them from the sun's heat, helping to keep room temperatures low. To construct an irrigation channel and a barn, ISNAD recruited high school students to source plastic bottles in their communities in exchange for books, Adeleke said. The organization also worked with third-party plastic collectors and exporters to complete the project. How Clean Energy Brands Are Curbing Emissions and Filling Access Gaps in Rural West Africa The cost of circularity If adopted on a large scale across Nigeria and Africa, plastic bottle houses could significantly contribute to sustainability efforts. Research shows about 10% of the world's total CO2 emissions come from manufacturing cement. But sourcing recycled materials can prove expensive, especially when the infrastructure isn't already in place. "The logistics of collection of the plastics is a major concern. In our case, we have had to hire taxis to move the bottles to our store at prices more expensive than the economic cost of the bottles," Adeleke said. The cost of collection is a deterrent for this kind of building—especially for small businesses and low-income people. For recycled plastic to be a viable alternative to other building materials, it needs to be cheaper than virgin plastic. That will most likely require government subsidies—at least at first. "We need to lobby our national and state assemblies and start discussions with the manufacturers and traders for them to see why they need to [address plastic waste],” said Oluwatosin Abdulsalam, a researcher at the Friedrich Schiller University Jena in Germany. It’s also crucial to educate the public on both the environmental costs of plastic waste and the benefits of innovative plastic recycling projects, he said. Only then will these innovations begin to make a dent. Jurassic World’s Sustainable Merchandise Takes Movie Souvenirs to the Next Level

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Built From Waste: Meet the Brands Turning Africa's Plastic Trash Into Treasure

Coca-Cola and L'Oréal are among the companies supporting recycling innovation

Ayobami Adedinni

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