Imagine what can be achieved when you bring together over 200 people who share a common purpose of wanting to solve their country’s growing waste crisis.

Earlier this month, members of our Circular Economy Network in The Gambia were joined by local dignitaries, and health specialists to launch our second Waste-To-Use Challenge.  The event was generously hosted by the British High Commission in Banjul and The High Commissioner, Harriet King, officially launched the challenge.

The Network, funded by the UK’s Chartered Institution of Wastes Management (CIWM) aims to fast-track circular economy initiatives by supporting innovative green businesses with training and investment. Helping sustainable businesses to scale will tackle the environmental impact of waste and create economic opportunities that can support The Gambia’s green recovery.  This innovation challenge showcases how much of a resource waste can be by offering grassroots entrepreneurs and innovators the opportunity to access business training and mentoring that would otherwise be impossible.

The competition will conclude in December with a pitch day where finalists will pitch their newly developed business plans to an expert panel.  The panel will select the best enterprises who will then receive an investment to help take them to the next level.

Last year’s finalists included a plastics recycling business, an organic biofuel enterprise, and a recycled textiles clothing company.  We are excited to see just what kind of businesses we will be supporting this year.  Open to all members of  WasteAid’s Gambia Circular Economy Network, the challenge offers a unique opportunity for entrepreneurs to secure up to £12,000 of funding as well as training.

This type of challenge is relatively unique, conceived by WasteAid on the back of 2020’s Zero Waste Cities Challenge.  Although there are innovation challenges around the world, none intervene at this level and in the countries where WasteAid is present.  WasteAid’s experience of delivering 2020’s challenge, which targeted enterprises that were already on the way to becoming successful green businesses, made the charity evaluate further its approach.

The critical question was how can local solutions and businesses be supported to scale in the countries where we work earlier in their journey to give them a greater chance of success. Also, how can WasteAid support in contexts where entrepreneurship is particularly challenging in areas where access to finance and business support is difficult?  It was in response to these questions that the grassroots competitions in The Gambia were born.

Our Waste-to-Use launch event was attended by 70 key individuals spanning the waste value chain. Guests included members of our Circular Economy Network, local mayors, government officials, members of the Medical Research Council, local business people, and representatives from WasteAid. This launch marked the opening of the challenge to applications.

This year’s challenge specifically addresses textile, plastic, and organic waste – waste streams that have been identified by the network members as particularly challenging. These businesses will preferably be pioneering ways to recover, reuse and ultimately divert waste from landfill, while also creating livelihood opportunities for communities in the Greater Banjul Area.

Vicky Rollinson, Country Manager (The Gambia), said: “Thank you to everyone who came along to the launch of our Waste-to-Use Challenge. We look forward to engaging with

the circular businesses involved in this initiative and continuing our efforts to develop a thriving circular economy in The Gambia.”

Harriet King, British High Commissioner to the Gambia said: “The Gambia has made excellent progress in recent years towards resolving its waste management challenges. This is no small feat, and it is heartening to see WasteAid, with the support of the UK’s Chartered Institution of Wastes Management, take this important step to support the professionalisation of the sector. It is an honour to be hosting an event celebrating an initiative that is doing so much to drive positive change here in The Gambia”.

Six businesses will be selected to receive tailored business training and mentoring. The challenge will culminate with the participants pitching their business idea to a panel of judges for a chance to secure a share of the £12,000 investment.

One of the most extensive studies ever undertaken into waste management in Uganda has been launched by WasteAid. We are leading two initiatives involving more than 1,000 people to explore whether textile waste can be saved from landfill and reused to support the local economy in the country’s capital Kampala.  

The move comes as the Ugandan Government considers banning second-hand textile imports in a bid to stimulate domestic manufacturing and tackle its growing waste issues. Estimates suggest that Uganda imports more than 90,000 tones of second-hand clothing and other textiles each year –  the equivalent of around 40,000 cars.    

In one of the largest studies undertaken in Uganda, we are surveying more than 1,000 traders at Kampala’s largest second-hand textile market, Owino,. The research will provide us with a detailed understanding of the textile value chain and identify the textiles that can best be reused and recycled. As part of the assessment, the survey team is also meeting with policymakers, and business leaders to provide comprehensive insights into the challenges of tackling this complex issue.    

Our Uganda Circular Textile Project aims to support a transition to a local Ugandan textile manufacturing base by identifying how unwanted clothing and other textiles can be redirected away from landfill to local businesses that will turn them into new products and items for resale. It’s one of 28 projects globally funded by the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office under the Sustainable Manufacturing and Environmental Programme (SMEP).  

This is the first time that WasteAid has been active in Uganda. It allows us to bring proven approaches and experience developed in countries including South Africa and The Gambia and adapt them to address Uganda’s textile challenges.  

It’s hoped this initiative project could provide useful data to the Ugandan government to inform a textile policy that works for the 5,000 women and men who currently rely on second-hand clothes for their livelihood as well as one that helps to inform how to stimulate the local textile economy.  

WasteAid’s Director of Programmes, Michelle Wilson said: “The second-hand textiles market is integral to Uganda’s economy, providing vital income, particularly for women who rely on the sale of second-hand clothes to feed their families and send their children to school. 

“Ultimately, we would like this initiative to contribute to the second-hand textile policy development in Uganda – to support the development of a policy that supports the livelihoods of the informal sector, enables home-grown Ugandan textile trade to expand and but also reduces the amount of textile waste polluting the environment.” 

In a second, connected initiative, WasteAid has begun working with the Ugandan Tailors Association, which represents 3,000 Ugandan tailors and a government-run college that provides students – particularly women – with practical training, to help locals develop skills and access equipment to repurpose discarded textiles.  

We are working with these partners to explore reuse options such as creating household cleaning items such as mops, upholstery stuffing, and other clothing items from discarded textiles and other scraps that would otherwise be dumped or burned as a cheap alternative to fuel. 

The study and textile waste repurposing programme marks an important step towards addressing the textile waste crisis in Uganda. The study is expected to be completed later in the summer and will offer valuable insights to guide future efforts in reducing textile waste. A final report will be published in the Autumn.  

To find out how you can support WasteAid in tackling the global waste crisis click here. 

At WasteAid, we work with communities and policymakers in countries impacted by the global waste crisis to help them implement waste management and recycling programmes through education, networking, and training.

Our approach is anchored on inclusive circular economy principles to ensure that people and the planet thrive.

But we often get asked, “What is the circular economy?”. Here we explore things in a bit more detail.

What is the Circular Economy?

In a circular economy, goods are kept in circulation and are either reused for their initial purpose or repurposed and given a new lease of life. By reusing and recycling products, businesses reduce waste and harmful emissions. For example, Veja Sneakers which uses recycled plastic bottles and polyester in its shoes; or Nudie Jeans which uses recycled cotton and also sells repurposed and repaired old jeans. The circular economy covers many different product sectors; e.g. food, clothes, plastics and takes as its model, Nature, where the end-products of one life cycle provide the beginning for the next, and so on.

This approach makes absolute sense when you consider the scale of waste we produce. More than two billion tons of waste each year. That’s six times the weight of the total population of the planet. And it’s growing fast – modern society’s disposable lifestyle is impacting every corner of the planet. Despite this, just 9% of the global economy is circular – so there is plenty of opportunity for WasteAid’s project to make a positive difference to people and the environment!

At WasteAid we work in low-income countries and communities to provide practical waste-systems solutions. But – importantly – these solutions are also designed to provide dignified, sustainable and valuable livelihoods (and markets) for people living at the sharp end of the waste crisis. Our projects are based upon a circular economy approach, where waste products and goods are given a second life.

WasteAid and the Circular Economy

WasteAid’s commitment to developing a Circular Economy.

For WasteAid, a circular economy has the following five features:

Reduce: In South Africa, around 1 in 3 people don’t have access to regular waste collection services. Leaving them with no choice but to dump or burn their waste.

WasteAid, alongside researchers from the University of Portsmouth, ran a pilot study in the Thembisile Hani Local Municipality of the Mpumalanga Province. We worked with community, and educational leaders and artists to educate people on the dangers of dumping and burning waste through art and song. The project also aimed to increase recycling, support informal waste collectors and introduce community drop-off points for recyclables.

Our aim was to increase recycling, support informal waste collectors and introduce community drop-off points for recyclables. This was a success. By the end of the pilot, the amount of dumped and burned waste in the region, had fallen by 27.7%.

Reuse: Embracing a circular economy by diverting electronic, textiles, and organic waste from landfills for upcycling. not only reduces the demand for new resources, but also minimises environmental pollution. Take Mpho Motatinyane in South Africa, who took part in our Wastepreneur programme. Here she tells us how she is able to make an income by reusing cardboard to make educational resources.

Mpho Motatinyane entered our Waste Entrepreneurial Fund Challenge to help get her recycling business off the ground. She noticed the high amount of cardboard boxes and paper discarded by her son’s school and spotted an opportunity to reuse the materials, turning them into spelling and educational cards for students. Mpho enrolled in our 12-week course where she learned about the circular economy and business basics such as budgeting and forecasting. With WasteAid’s support, Mpho’s business secured 80 orders in the first month alone and she hired two part-time employees.

Recycle: One of the ways we help communities tackle the global waste crisis is by supporting waste collectors. We help waste collectors to better sort and clean their waste. We’ve helped them to foster links with buy-back centres and supported buy-back centres to access onward markets to improve the value waste collectors receive for their waste and help build demand for the waste.

For example, waste collectors often collect flexible plastics which have been dumped. Buy-back centres then sell the plastic to large manufacturers who shred the plastic and then it gets sold again to recyclers. This is when the plastic gets a new lease of life. The benefit of supporting waste collectors is that it not only helps the environment but it also provides job opportunities, changing the lives of the communities where our programmes are implemented.

Repeatable: Our programmes are proven to work and are designed to be implemented in new regions, markets and economies. For example, we recently announced that we’re launching our ‘wastepreneur’ programme in Uganda for the first time – after previously testing it in South Africa.

Relationships: A circular economy approach is not just about individual businesses but will ideally engage the wider social economy in a region. It is a new way of thinking about materials and markets. So, we bring together people at every stage of the waste value chain to provide mentoring, technical training, and facilitate innovative solutions to community waste challenges.

We run a Circular Economy Network in countries including Gambia and South Africa. The purpose of the network is to raise awareness of a circular economy and its benefits and connect stakeholders with individuals who are working to find solutions to the waste crisis. Currently, in The Gambia, the Circular Economy Network has around 165 active members.

Supporting our Circular Economy projects

We are seeing exciting progress with many of our projects. We are ambitious about what we think is possible in the near future. We’re currently aiming to raise £1 million in time for for our 10-year anniversary next year. This fundraising campaign will allow us to support even more people impacted by the daily consequences of the global waste crisis through our programmes, such as those related to the circular economy.

Discover you can support our campaign here.