The global Plastic Free July movement has brought home to people around the world the major environmental crisis that we all continue to face from plastic waste. WasteAid works with communities that are most severely impacted by dumped plastic and other waste to introduce lasting programmes to safely reduce and reuse the waste they are faced with daily.

Many countries lack the infrastructure to manage their waste, often leaving toxic plastic and other waste to clog up waterways and the sea or be burned in the streets. WasteAid brings together individual waste collectors, educators, businesses, and local and national politicians and policymakers to find lasting solutions to the challenge of plastic waste. Our approach aims to empower the people at the very heart of the waste challenge – improving the environment, health and well-being of people most impacted by waste that’s dumped or burned.

Supporting plastic collection and recycling in Cameroon

The coastal city of Douala is one of the areas where we’ve successfully empowered communities to reduce their plastic waste.

The city faces significant challenges in managing its waste. Drains and rivers are filled with plastic and the waters of the Douala Estuary are highly polluted. Despite the challenges, there is an active movement working hard to improve the situation.

It was important to us to support the real efforts already being made to reduce plastic waste in Doula. Working in partnership with the local authority who donated land and using funds donated by Bunzl and Partners Group and a contribution from Biffa, we have built and opened a plastics recovery centre in the Doula III community. The centre will act as a hub for local waste collectors who will bring the plastic they collect from the drains, rivers, ditches and streets to the centre to be cleaned, sorted, and sold for recycling.

A community committed to reducing waste

The facility is part of a wider programme of activity in Douala, that has included helping waste collectors become ‘wastepreneurs’ through our coaching and training programme, supported by UKAid’s match programme to provide them with backing to create a sustainable business fromwaste. By the end of 2023, we will have mentored approximately 90 wastepreneurs so far. Elsewhere, we are working with organisations and individuals across the city to build a circular economy to effectively reduce plastic waste by reusing and recycling it.

One of the first people to benefit from our mentoring programme in Cameroon was ‘Mama Pasto’. Her story truly shows how lives can be transformed when people are given then the opportunity, support and the right tools.  You can read it here.

As a registered charity, WasteAid relies on support from businesses and organisations to deliver critical projects such as our work in Cameroon. To find out how your company can help get in touch with ceris.turner-bailes@wasteaid.org