Mr. Plastic, Plastic Activist, Senegal. Credit: @Mel D Cole, World Bank/WACA
DAKAR, Senegal, July 13, 2023 -/African Media Agency(AMA)/“These bags are part of the five million plastic bags that the population of Dakar uses every day before throwing them in the street. With his strange outfit made from plastic waste picked up in the streets, Modou Fall, known as Mr. Plastic, has been doing this for years to raise awareness about plastic pollution.
An obvious ecological disaster
In 2018, 6.9 million tons of plastic waste was discarded by the 17 coastal countries of West Africa. Nigeria alone produces 4.7 million tons a year. With 20% of this waste produced within 30 kilometers of the coast, most end up in the ocean.
In response to this unprecedented challenge, the West African Coastal Management Program (READ) funded at approximately $563 million by the World Bank and its partners, has prepared a series of reports on the impacts of plastic pollution, opportunities for a circular economy, Senegal’s management of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles at the end of of life, with an e-book on resources to help individuals create their own logic of mobilization.
In West Africa, the cost of damage from marine plastic pollution is estimated at between $10,000 to $33,000 per ton. Fisheries and aquaculture, maritime tourism, the value of seaside properties, biodiversity and ecosystems are the sectors hit hardest.
Land and livestock are our only wealth. When plastic waste is burned in the fields, no plants can grow and no seeds can sprout. Our cows, goats, and sheep are eating the plastic that litters the streets and dying.
Yes, Mbaye
President of Rural Women of Senegal
Landfill, Kaolack, Senegal. Credit: @Mel D Cole, World Bank/WACA
The village of Joal on the Senegalese coast is an illustration of this. Sitting on an island of sea shells, Joal is surrounded by a plastic tide. Thousands of used plastic bags litter the beach, cling to the branches of the mangroves which serve as nurseries for crabs and fish, hug baby turtles and prevent them from making their way from the nest to the sea, and keep tourists away.
Nearly 80% of mismanaged plastic waste in West African coastal areas poses growing challenges to populations, economies, and the coastal and marine environment.
The scourge directly impacts the lives of farmers. In Kaolack in Senegal, Ndiouck Mbaye, president of the rural women of Senegal, is sorry: “The land and the livestock are our only wealth. When plastic waste is burned in the fields, no plants can grow and no seeds can sprout. Our cows, goats, and sheep are eating the plastic that litters the streets and dying. »
Involve businesses and create new wealth.
Most of the plastic pollution comes from packaging, and mainly from single-use plastic used for water and food consumption, or for sanitary purposes. The support of actors and companies aware of their responsibilities is crucial for a successful reform.
Thus the Kirène Group, which produces 700,000 liters of drink per day, orients its production at 88% on large-format water bottles of 1.5 or 10 liters in order to reduce the use of small water sachets or small bottles at the heart of the problem. Today essential in West Africa, they allow the most vulnerable to have access to inexpensive drinking water. In 2014, in Ghana, with the use of plastic water containers, the infant mortality rate fell by 42%. Kirène is now extending its activities towards recycling with partners such as Recuplast.
“Our Recuplast branch specializes in the recovery of bottles, eco-gestures and the promotion of the circular economy. This plastic waste collection network collects the plastic, pays people or gives them recycled products such as basins, tables and chairs. We are even thinking of creating carpentry that would make furniture with recycled plastic instead of cutting down trees and aggravating deforestation,” explains director Macoumba Diagne. Today, Recuplast collects between 100 and 150 tons of plastic waste per month, has hired 240 people and supports 5,400 through activities related to recovery.
Committed elected officials and communities
But the mobilization in this flagship fight of the 21st century is also done at the level of elected officials. For Dudu Jalloh, municipal councilor in Kanifing in The Gambia, it is also about raising awareness: “Although laws exist, it is difficult to enforce them. We need an aggressive public awareness program. »
Because bad habits die hard. Some fishermen readily admit that their practices are harmful: “When we go to sea, we take gasoline, food, tea, coal wrapped in plastic which we then throw into the sea,” explains Abdou Rahman, fisherman from Bargny in Senegal. And to add this anecdote which testifies to the extent of the problem: “Even before entering the sea, plastic wraps around our engines and prevents us from working and feeding our families. »
His colleague Macodou Gueye insists: “Another problem concerns our nets. Some are plastic, when they get damaged we leave them in the sea.” And when asked what he sees the most at sea: “Hundreds and hundreds of baby diapers floating everywhere! »
Proposed solutions
West Africa has few plastic product manufacturing plants. Most countries depend on imports of virgin plastic resins and plastic products. Investments are needed in the management of this waste with its collection, the sorting of plastic with a view to its reuse and recycling and, as a last resort, its burial in landfills. The current linear model (produce – consume – throw away) must evolve towards a circular plastic economy model and be accompanied by innovations and an appropriate regulatory framework. This also requires private sector investment and the creation of vibrant markets for recycled plastics and plastic substitutes.
The World Bank intervenes at every stage of the plastic life cycle to support countries in their fight against this scourge, with projects worth more than $2.5 billion focused on the management and prevention of plastic pollution. It also brings expertise, encourages private investment and supports regional institutions to provide cross-border solutions.
Isatou Ceesay, Plastic Activist, Gambia. Credit: @Mel D Cole, World Bank/WACA
For Isatou Ceesay, reform must start at home with women and children. His NGO, Women in Gambiaeducates children on waste management and teaches women to recycle them into bags, pouches, and key rings, thus creating an income.
A circular economy model could reduce plastic waste by 40 to 50% – or 2.9 to 3.8 million tonnes of plastic waste – and prevent it from ending up as environmental waste in 2026. This would correspond to a reduction carbon emissions of 30 to 60%, or CO2 emissions of between 6 and 9.1 million tonnes.
Distributed by African Media Agency (AMA) for World Bank.
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Source : African Media Agency (AMA)