The U.N.World Food Program distributes USAID-donated rice in Liberia
Source: MorganaWingard, 2014
BUREAU FOR HUMANITARIAN
ASSISTANCE (BHA)
CIRCULAR ECONOMY PRIVATE SECTOR
LANDSCAPE ASSESSMENT (PSLA)
December 14, 2021
This study is made possible by the support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
Its contents are the sole responsibility of SSG Advisors, LLC d/b/a Resonance and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United
States Government. It was produced in collaboration with the US Global Development Lab’s Center for Transformational Partnerships and the
Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Acronyms 1
Executive Summary 2
Circular Economy PSLA Findings 2
Opportunities, and Recommendations 3
1. Introduction 6
1.1 Context and Background 6
1.2 Methodology 10
2. Private Sector Landscape forWaste Management in East Africa 14
2.1 PackagingWaste Management Business Models 14
2.2 Kenya Findings 17
2.3 Ethiopia Findings 19
2.4 Challenges to Private Sector Engagement in PackagingWaste 21
3. Opportunities and Recommendations 25
Cross-Cutting Opportunities 25
3.1 Institute InternalWaste Management Procedures 25
3.2 Partner with Private Sector Actors 27
Country-Specific Opportunities 29
3.3 Catalyze Finance forWaste Management Infrastructure 29
3.4 Address Logistics and Transportation Barriers from Humanitarian Sites 34
3.5 Facilitate Circular Economy Policy Advocacy 38
3.6 Build Capacity of Informal Sector 42
3.7 Prioritization of Opportunities 46
3.8 Case Study of Opportunity in Action 53
4. Conclusion 56
5. Annexes 58
5.1 References 58
5.2 PACE Details 60
5.3 Stakeholder Interviews 62
5.4 Qualitative Coding Matrix 64
ACRONYMS
ACEA African Circular Economy Alliance
AfDB African Development Bank
BHA U.S. Bureau for Humanitarian Affairs (Formerly FFP and OFDA)
CCBO Clean Cities Blue Oceans
COVID-19 2019 Novel Coronavirus or 2019-nCoV
CRGE Climate Resilience and Green Economy
CSO Civil Society Organization
DFC Development Finance Corporation
EABC East African Business Council
EAC East African Community
EPR Extended Producer Responsibility
FAO Food and Agriculture Organization
FDRE Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia
GACERE Global Alliance on Circular Economy and Resource Efficiency
GEF Global Environment Facility
GIZ Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (German Society for
International Cooperation)
GSC Global Shelter Cluster
HAO Humanitarian Assistance Organization
ICRC International Committee of the Red Cross
IDP Internally Displaced Peoples
ILO International Labour Organization
KAM Kenya Association of Manufacturers
KAWR Kenya Association ofWaste Recyclers
KEPSA Kenya Private Sector Alliance
KIPPRA Kenya Institute for Public Policy Research and Analysis
MCC Millenium Challenge Corporation
MoEF Kenyan Ministry of Environment and Forestry
MoTI Kenyan Ministry of Trade and Industrialization
NAMA Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Action
NEMA National Environment Management Authority
NGI Norwegian Geotechnical Institute
NGOs Non-Governmental Organizations
OCHA United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
PACE Platform for Accelerating the Circular Economy
PEPSE Promoting Excellence in Private Sector Engagement (USAID project)
PET Polyethylene Terephthalate
PP Polypropylene
PPP Public Private Partnership
PSE Private Sector Engagement
PSLA Private Sector Landscape Assessment
rPET Recycled Polyethylene Terephthalate
SANREM Sustainable Agriculture and Natural Resource Management Africa
SME Small and Medium Enterprises
USAID.GOV CIRCULAR ECONOMY PSLA | 1
SOW Scope ofWork
SWM SolidWaste Management
UN United Nations
UNECA United Nations Economic Commission for Africa
UNEP United Nations Environment Programme
UNHCR United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
USAID United States Agency for International Development
WASH Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene
WEF World Economic Forum
WEMAK Waste and Environment Management Association of Kenya
WFP World Food Programme
WRI World Resources Institute
USAID.GOV CIRCULAR ECONOMY PSLA | 2
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The United States Agency for International Development’s Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance
(USAID/BHA) and the broader humanitarian community have identified that the packaging used to
deliver food assistance and non-food items often becomes an unintended waste stream in recipient
countries. As one component of addressing this challenge, USAID/BHA engaged the Promoting
Excellence in Private Sector Engagement (PEPSE) program to conduct a Private Sector Landscape
Assessment (PSLA), which aimed to understand the interests, challenges, main actors, and opportunities
for engaging the private sector in managing humanitarian assistance packaging waste in recipient
countries. This PSLA focused on opportunities that USAID/BHA and the humanitarian community can
employ to leverage circular economy and market-based approaches for managing, recycling, and reusing
food packaging for food and non-food items in Kenya and Ethiopia. Circular economy can be defined as
“a systems solution framework that tackles global challenges like climate change, biodiversity loss, waste,
and pollution, based on the elimination of waste and pollution, circulation of products and materials (at
their highest value), and regeneration of nature” (Ellen Macarthur Foundation, 2021).
The PSLA focused on the following research questions:
1) What is the market demand for humanitarian packaging waste?
2) What are opportunities for the private sector to use circular and market-based approaches to
manage humanitarian packaging waste?
3) What companies are already working on waste management & where?
4) What gaps or challenges exist for the private sector in circular economy approaches to humanitarian
packaging waste management?
5) What lessons learned (e.g., unintended consequences, foreseen or unforeseen results, etc.) or best
practices currently exist?
6) What are opportunities for greater collaboration across USAID and USAID/BHA with regards to
humanitarian packaging waste?
The research team investigated these questions through a combination of desk review, interviews with
humanitarian organizations, and interviews with private sector actors over the course of seven months.
Circular Economy PSLA Findings
The PSLA team uncovered five distinct business models that organizations in Kenya and Ethiopia are
using to implement circular and traditional approaches to waste management. For three of the five
business models identified, the PSLA team found only one example for these models. These business
models include:
● For Profit (Unassisted): Private sector organizations using this model operate profitably, or are
close to achieving profitability, and do not receive financial support outside of their service offerings.
Over three-quarters of the companies interviewed (29 of 38) fall into this category.
● For Profit (Assisted): This model describes private sector businesses that intend to operate
profitably, unassisted, but have not been able to achieve that goal. These organizations receive
funding from other entities, such as governments, grants, or other organizations to operate. Fifteen
percent of the companies interviewed (six of 38) fall into this category.
USAID.GOV CIRCULAR ECONOMY PSLA | 3
● Public-Private Partnerships: This business model describes the collaboration between a
government agency and a private sector company to collectively finance and build projects. While
common elsewhere in the development space, this model is rare in solid waste management (SWM)
in the countries examined in this report. One of 38 companies interviewed fall under this category.
● Non-Profit-Driven: These are models driven by creating a collective public benefit and are not
focused on creating profit for its owners. One of 38 companies interviewed fall under this category.
● Government-Driven: These organizations are either part of or dependent on funding from
national, local, international, or regional government actors to operate their business. One of 38
companies interviewed fall under this category.
Private sector actors across Kenya, Ethiopia, and the other countries interviewed listed a number of
recurring challenges to engaging in packaging waste management.These challenges include:
Challenges faced by the private sector in engaging with packaging waste management
generally.
● Finances: Operation costs and lack of access to finance from local institutions impede the
emergence and growth of financially viable enterprises.
● Logistics: The high cost, inefficiencies, and cumbersome process of collecting, sorting, storing, and
transporting large amounts of waste, particularly given the remoteness of some humanitarian
operations,remain a challenge for the private sector.
● Infrastructure: The lack of infrastructure, such as sufficient recycling points, composting facilities,
and road networks along the supply chain challenges waste management and circular interventions.
● Awareness: Almost all private sector companies identified a lack of citizen and consumer
awareness around waste segregation, recycling, and proper waste disposal as a hindrance to circular
approaches to waste management.
● Behavior: Awareness of the issue of packaging pollution and greener waste disposal is important
for behavior change, but not effective by itself.
● Markets: The value of the waste, particularly plastic waste, internationally can be heavily influenced
by the cost of oil and international markets. This can create market volatility when the waste
collected has severely reduced in value.
● Supply: Recyclers need a continuous, reliable supply of waste to process. Often, humanitarian
assistance organizations (HAOs) cannot commit to a specific amount of waste for a given timeframe,
posing a risk for a potential private sector partner.
● Taxation and Regulation: High importation taxes on waste management equipment and
technology and regulations banning waste transportation across administrative borders can restrict
companies’ abilities to expand operations.
● Labor: End-of-life management relies heavily on informal and formal labor, which increases costs for
organizing, facilitating, and operating such enterprises.
Challenges faced by the private sector in engaging with HAOs for humanitarian packaging
waste management.
● Humanitarian Operations and Processes: The time it takes to partner with development or
humanitarian actors and their specific requirements for contractors can be a deterrent for some
waste management companies.
USAID.GOV CIRCULAR ECONOMY PSLA | 4
● Internal Planning: A lack of waste management planning by HAOs, due to a historical lack of
prioritization and attention, leads to waste mixing and thus value reduction, waste contamination,
lack of waste data, and inefficient or nonexistent private sector engagement.
Opportunities and Recommendations
From the challenges identified and an understanding of national context and best practices, the PSLA
team identified six opportunities for USAID/BHA and USAID to engage the private sector in advancing
circular economy approaches to end-of-life management of packaging waste. These opportunities are
ordered based on short- (less than 1 year), medium- (1-3 years), and long-term (more than 3 years)
timelines to start implementation. USAID/BHA and USAID can undertake initial steps in medium- and
long-term opportunities earlier, but the PSLA recommends focusing the bulk of effort on implementing
opportunities in sequence as the earlier opportunities build the foundation for later/longer-term
opportunities. The report outlines the challenges addressed by each opportunity, recommendations for
USAID/BHA and USAID to pursue, and the overall prioritization of the opportunity (options include
Limited, Moderate, Significant, and Very Significant). The overall prioritization is a summary of a set of
evaluation criteria applied to each opportunity.
Short-term Opportunities
Opportunity Recommendation Overall Prioritization
Partner with PrivateValue
Chain Actors
USAID/BHA and implementing partners can
partner with value chain actors (recyclers,
collectors, others in the end of life management
space) to channel waste from humanitarian sites
into circular economy value chains.
Very Significant
Address Logistics and
Transportation Barriers from
Humanitarian Sites
USAID/BHA can work with implementing
partners to investigate options for aggregating
waste, utilizing reverse logistics, and introducing
technologies that create logistics efficiencies.
Moderate (Kenya)
Moderate (Ethiopia)
Institute InternalWaste
Management Procedures
USAID/BHA and implementing partners can
create a waste management plan framework to
sort and track the waste created on-site in both
camps and dispersed sites to facilitate better
private sector engagement. Each site would tailor
this framework to meet requirements based on
their unique circumstances.
Moderate
USAID.GOV CIRCULAR ECONOMY PSLA | 5
Medium-term Opportunities
Opportunity Recommendation Overall Prioritization
Facilitate Circular Economy
Policy Advocacy
USAID/BHA can increase private sector
participation, collaboration, and input into
policies,standards, procurement, and end-of-life
solutions.
Significant
Build Capacity of Informal
Sector with Development
Partners
USAID/BHA can work with other USAID
divisions/programs and the Millennium Challenge
Corporation (MCC) to provide safety and
technical training,raise awareness, and facilitate
organizing informal workers in crisis-affected
communities to better engage with the private
sector.
Significant
Long-term Opportunities
Opportunity Recommendation Overall Prioritization
Catalyze Finance forWaste
Management Infrastructure
USAID/BHA can work with USAID, DFC and
other development partners to establish and
facilitate finance mechanisms for infrastructure,
logistics, and equipment improvements.
Significant
USAID.GOV CIRCULAR ECONOMY PSLA | 6
1. INTRODUCTION
1.1 Context and Background
1.1.1 Purpose of the Private Sector Landscape Assessment
United Nations volunteers and citizens unload food supplies delivered by a U.S. helicopter
Source: Navy News Service, 2010
The United States Agency for International Development’s Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance
(USAID/BHA) delivers life-saving assistance in response to disasters and emergencies across the globe.
This includes both food assistance (e.g., grains, vegetable oil, flour, etc.) and non-food items (e.g., shelter
kits, medical supplies, hygiene products, kitchen tools, etc.). The packaging in which these items are
delivered can be both an asset to those receiving assistance, and an unintended source of waste. These
communities often do not have the necessary systems and infrastructure to manage packaging waste
effectively, leading to significant environmental, social, and health impacts. This has led to solid waste
management (SWM) and recycling becoming a growing priority for USAID/BHA and the broader
humanitarian community.
To help address this challenge, the USAID/BHA Supply Chain Management division identified using a
circular economy framework as a key element of the USAID/BHA’s strategy to improve packaging waste
1
1 The Circular Economy framework is underpinned by a transition to renewable energy and materials.Transitioning to a
circular economy entails decoupling economic activity from the consumption of finite resources (Ellen Macarthur
Foundation, 2021).
USAID.GOV CIRCULAR ECONOMY PSLA | 7
management in humanitarian assistance. Given the private sector’s prominence in SWM, USAID/BHA
2
wanted to better understand the current and potential role of the private sector in managing packaging
waste from humanitarian assistance (World Bank, 2017). At the same time, it is difficult to generalize
across different and unique contexts of many of these communities. USAID/BHA also wanted to identify
opportunities that USAID/BHA can leverage and/or replicate to minimize the impact of packaging and
turn waste into opportunities for communities. This includes examining existing waste management
operations or potential private sector engagement and market-based approaches to recycling/reuse and
management of packaging waste.
USAID/BHA engaged the Promoting Excellence in Private Sector Engagement (PEPSE) program to
conduct a Private Sector Landscape Assessment (PSLA) about humanitarian assistance packaging waste
management. More specifically, this PSLA focused on end-of-life opportunities that leverage circular
economy and market-based approaches for managing, recycling, and reusing packaging from humanitarian
commodities that produce significant waste streams in areas with large-scale humanitarian assistance
activities.
The PSLA set out to help USAID/BHA answer the following questions:
1) What is the market demand for repurposed humanitarian packaging and material waste?
2) What types of companies are already working on waste management initiatives, and where?
a) What types of companies may be interested in becoming involved?
3) What are opportunities for the private sector to use circular and market-based approaches to
manage and reuse humanitarian packaging waste? More specifically:
a) How is packaging reused by the private sector and/or beneficiary communities in creative
ways (e.g.,recycling, disposal, other reuse, etc.) and at what scale/volume is packaging being
reused compared to the scale/volume of waste being produced?
b) What are the different circular business models for SWM (e.g.,re-use, waste
collection/sorting/recycling, trading, etc.) at the local and regional levels? And, if applicable,
how does the informal economy fit into these models?
4) What gaps, challenges, or barriers exist for private sector participation in circular economy
approaches in the humanitarian packaging waste supply chain?
5) What lessons learned (e.g., unintended consequences, foreseen or unforeseen results, etc.) or best
practices currently exist?
a) What is being done well and what makes these practices successful?
b) Is there existing demand for business models and/or current initiatives among BHA partners
that USAID/BHA could leverage or bolster?
6) What are some opportunities for greater collaboration across USAID and USAID/BHA with regards
to humanitarian packaging waste?
2 These efforts also align with the Joint Initiative for Sustainable Humanitarian Assistance Packaging Waste Management,
created in 2019 in collaboration with USAID, the World Food Programme, and the Global Logistics Cluster.
USAID.GOV CIRCULAR ECONOMY PSLA | 8
1.1.2 Circular Economy of PackagingWaste in Humanitarian
Operations
Cubes of cleaned plastic waste,ready for processing
Source: Nareeta Martin, 2021
Packaging waste from humanitarian activities, which is used to deliver food and non-food commodities,
includes virgin woven polypropylene (PP) bags, steel cans, plastic bottles, cardboard cartons, and
metalized flexible plastic sachets and pouches. These materials fall into three categories: primary
packaging, which is packaging for an individual good, such as a meal replacement sachet; secondary
packaging, which is packaging for a collection of products, such as cardboard cartons holding steel
vegetable oil tins; and tertiary packaging, which is packaging used to transport or store humanitarian
assistance products, such as wooden pallets (USAID, 2020). Plastic is the most widely used material for
packaging in the world and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) is the largest driver of plastic waste due to
its cheap price (Unilever, 2021).
Unsustainable SWM, which is expected to worsen in the coming years, is one of the most underfunded
global development challenges (USAID, 2020). In 2016, the world generated 242 million tonnes of plastic
waste—12 percent of all municipal solid waste (World Bank, 2018). This crisis is especially challenging
for countries that lack the infrastructure to handle existing municipal solid waste as well as solid waste
that results from humanitarian assistance activities.
One of the most promising ways to reduce packaging waste in the humanitarian lifecycle is through a
circular economy approach, which aims to improve how goods and services are used throughout the
USAID.GOV CIRCULAR ECONOMY PSLA | 9
supply chain to maximize resource usability and eliminate waste. While there is no singular definition for
the circular economy, this assessment adapted the following from Korhonen, et al.:
The circular economy is a sustainable development approach focused on
reducing the linear production-consumption system of materials and energy
flows by applying materials cycles,renewable and cascade-type energy flows
to the linear system.The circular economy promotes high-value material cycles
alongside traditional recycling and develops systems approaches to encourage the
cooperation of producers, consumers, and other societal actors in this work”
(Korhonen, 2018).
Several actors and initiatives have convened to address humanitarian packaging waste in response to this
crisis. USAID/BHA facilitates the Joint Initiative for Sustainable Humanitarian Assistance Packaging Waste
Management (to be referred to henceforth as the Joint Initiative), which includes partners such as the
World Food Programme (WFP), the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), and the United
Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), to address humanitarian packaging waste
management. ICRC has taken steps to work with its suppliers to reduce the packaging used for
humanitarian products
like kitchen sets by using
cardboard packaging
(ICRC, 2021). The
Global Shelter Cluster
called on organizations
that distribute shelter to
eliminate all but essential
plastic packaging in relief
items by the end of 2020
(GSC, 2019). In refugee
camps in Kenya and
Ethiopia, UNHCR works
with engineers to recycle
plastic waste into building
materials (slabs, bricks)
and items such as chairs,
bowls, basins, and
buckets (NGI, 2018).
These actions and others
demonstrate increased
attention and action
toward both circular
economy approaches and
the problem of
humanitarian packaging waste.
Circular economy approaches are also becoming increasingly popular as pathways to achieving the
Sustainable Development Goals and advancing sustainable development more generally. For example, the
World Economic Forum (WEF) spun out the Platform for Accelerating the Circular Economy (PACE) in
2017. Now hosted by World Resources Institute (WRI), the platform has over 100 organizations from
USAID.GOV CIRCULAR ECONOMY PSLA | 10
the public, private, and civil society sectors working together to accelerate the transition to a circular
economy (WEF, 2020). More recently, 11 nations, including Kenya, Rwanda, and South Africa, joined with
UN organizations and the European Commission to launch the Global Alliance on Circular Economy and
Resource Efficiency (GACERE) in 2021 (European Commission, 2021). While these show a broad and
growing interest in circular economy approaches, these high-level alliances and humanitarian sector
actors have not yet partnered on strategic or operational activities.
1.1.3 Geographic Focus of the Private Sector Landscape Assessment
The PSLA focused on identifying opportunities and business models in Sub-Saharan Africa, with an
emphasis on East Africa and specifically Kenya and Ethiopia. Kenya and Ethiopia were chosen because
USAID/BHA has significant humanitarian assistance activities and there is potential and promise of
successful circular economy approaches in both countries. Kenya is home to many waste management
companies, transportation routes, and favorable legislation. For example, Kenya’s Green Bond
Programme established a domestic green bond market that can be leveraged for circular approaches.
Additionally, the Climate Innovation Centre supports green businesses in Kenya. By 2030, Kenya is
estimated to produce 5.5 million tons of waste annually, which may contribute to growth in the waste
management sector (Republic of Kenya Ministry of Environment and Forestry, 2021).
Ethiopia receives a large amount of humanitarian assistance and packaging material (as detailed in Figures
1 and 2) and has existing waste recycling initiatives on which USAID/BHA can build. In Ethiopia,19.2
million people required humanitarian assistance in 2020 alone (USAID, 2020). Additionally, reuse and
recycling have long been a cultural practice in Ethiopia , creating opportunities for companies focusing on
3
the end-of-life section of the waste management chain.
Figure 1:Top Ten Recipient Countries and Ports of Packaging Material by Weight (USAID, 2020b)
3 Due to limited purchasing power for new items, a common cultural practice in Ethiopia is
reusing and repurposing everyday items.
USAID.GOV CIRCULAR ECONOMY PSLA | 11
Figure 2:Top Ten Recipient Countries and Ports of Packaging Material by Number (USAID, 2020b)
1.2 Methodology
1.2.1 PSLA Design and Scope ofWork Development
The PSLA team used a phased approach to understand the private sector landscape of packaging waste
management in Kenya and Ethiopia, identify the private sector’s challenges and opportunities, and
develop opportunities and recommendations for USAID/BHA.The timeline of the PSLA was as follows:
Figure 3: PSLA Timeline and Key Activities
USAID.GOV CIRCULAR ECONOMY PSLA | 12
During Phase I in March of 2021, the PSLA team worked with USAID/BHA to identify the focus and
objectives of the Circular Economy PSLA. This involved an introductory kick-off meeting (conducted on
March 30, 2021), which resulted in an approved scope of work that outlined the USAID/BHA Circular
Economy PSLA context, geographic focus, objectives, key stakeholders, implementation plan,
deliverables, team composition, and timeline. Through Phase 2, the PSLA team sought to understand
existing business models for engaging with packaging waste management. The PSLA team conducted
private sector interviews during Phase 3 to understand the private sector’s role in the circular economy
of humanitarian packaging waste, costs associated with end-of-life businesses, and how companies engage
with the informal sector. Phase 4 included an analysis of recommendations, opportunities, and challenges
stemming from the interviews,research, and feedback collected from the earlier phases.
1.2.2 Desk Research and Non-Private Sector Interviews
The PSLA team reviewed 25 reports, analyses, and articles from USAID/BHA, research organizations,
mass media, and more. Learnings and key takeaways from the desk research phase informed the private
sector interviews.The desk research phase of the PSLA was guided by the following questions:
● What are existing or potential circular business models for solid waste management, particularly in
humanitarian packaging and/or East Africa, that we can ask interviewees about?
● Who are key companies, coalitions, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) working at the
intersection of the circular economy and packaging waste in East Africa that we could interview or
research further?
● What are the dominant types of solid waste that are being integrated into circular economy models,
particularly in East Africa, and what is the demand for those types of solid waste in circular economy
models?
● What are relevant regulations, customs, or cross-border policies that impact the transit of packaging
waste between countries in East Africa?
● Which countries hold the most potential for USAID/BHA to engage in circular economy activities
around humanitarian packaging waste?
● What are common challenges to implementing circular economy business models to deal with
humanitarian packaging waste?
The PSLA team conducted sixteen non-private sector interviews with USAID/BHA implementing
partners, multi-stakeholder alliances, USAID bureaus, NGO thought leaders (including Chatham House
and African Circular Economy Network), and USAID/BHA research partners to establish contact,
relationships, and learn from priority actors within USAID/BHA’s and the Joint Initiative’s networks.
These interviewees were identified with USAID/BHA based on USAID/BHA’s experience, the PSLA
team’s network, and desk research. Non-private sector interview findings then informed the
development of the private sector interview guide.
1.2.3 Private Sector Interviews
The PSLA team conducted 38 private sector interviews as this amount was necessary to generate a
sufficient understanding of the target private sector context in Kenya and Ethiopia and to learn from
lessons in other countries. The PSLA team interviewed the most relevant recycling and circular economy
enterprises in Kenya and Ethiopia within the 38 interviews. Furthermore, 38 interviews were feasible
based on the time and resources available to the PSLA team.
USAID.GOV CIRCULAR ECONOMY PSLA | 13
Through the desk research and interview outreach phase of the PSLA, the PSLA team identified a dearth
of formal enterprises employing relevant reuse models. Interviews with humanitarian actors (Care
Denmark, 2021), private sector companies (Cambridge Industries, 2021), and additional desk research
revealed that reuse of waste is primarily conducted by individuals, communities, and informal workers
operating outside of the realm of businesses and formal markets. As such, the PSLA team focused on
recycling enterprises, which are more robust and mature, in Kenya and Ethiopia.
Most of the private sector interviewees were in Ethiopia and Kenya, with case studies in Uganda,
Rwanda, Madagascar, Tanzania, Nigeria, and South Africa (see Figure 4). These interviewees represented
4
a range of business types including small and medium enterprises (29 interviews), large businesses (3),
and associations (6). The PSLA team identified interviewees during check-ins with USAID/BHA, Phase 2
interviews, and by local informants and experts.
Figure 4: Private Sector Interviews by Geographic Location
The purpose of the private sector interviews was to identify opportunities for PSE for USAID/BHA and
better understand the private sector’s role in contributing to a circular economy. Examples of questions
for the private sector interviews include:
● What types of recycled materials and products are in the highest demand, and from what types of
organizations and geographies?
● What are the biggest costs associated with end-of-life businesses?
● How do end-of-life companies engage with the informal sector, if at all?
● Where in the value chain do companies see the most traction for circular approaches?
● What role does the private sector see USAID/BHA or other development-oriented actors playing in
facilitating the expansion of circular approaches to waste management?
1.2.4 Analysis
After completing the private sector interviews, the PSLA team coded the interviews according to the
PSLA’s key questions and objectives. This involved coding 82 categories, such as “private sector (PS)
4 Coca-Cola South Africa was interviewed for the PSLA due to the company’s large regional presence and
involvement in the SWM industry.
USAID.GOV CIRCULAR ECONOMY PSLA | 14
challenges to circular economy,” “opportunities for USAID/BHA PSE,” “demand for different types of
waste,” “policies and regulation,” and “engagement with the informal sector” (see Annex 5.4 for a
complete list of codes). The PSLA team analyzed codes to identify key themes in each category and
develop key recommendations, opportunities, and challenges for USAID/BHA. The PSLA team
conducted a mid-point findings presentation and two final (one internal and one external) out briefing
presentations with USAID/BHA and Joint Initiative partners to share observations from interviews and
PSLA conclusions.
2. PRIVATE SECTOR LANDSCAPE FOR
WASTE MANAGEMENT IN EAST AFRICA
The companies interviewed noted working with different types of waste, as demonstrated in Figure 5
below. This data includes companies that collect, process, manufacture, and sell the various materials.
The most frequently reported type of waste that companies work with is plastics, and more specifically
PET, while some companies worked with multiple types of waste.
Figure 5: Number of Companies that Work with Each Type of Waste
The PSLA team also assessed the types of waste reported by interviewees by country, see Figure 6. This
figure demonstrates that between Ethiopia and Kenya, interviewees work with a similar proportion
of various wastes, with plastics being the most commonly-listed waste type in both countries.
USAID.GOV CIRCULAR ECONOMY PSLA | 15
Figure 6:Types of Waste Collected by Each Country
2.1 PackagingWaste Management Business Models
Five types of business models emerged from the private sector interviews as described below. The
examples of companies provided below for each category are not exhaustive, and some companies may
fall across multiple categories. However, the majority of companies interviewed are for-profit and
unassisted.
2.1.1 For Profit – Unassisted
Private sector organizations that operate under this model operate profitably, or are close to achieving
profitability, and do not receive additional financial support. They gain capital through the production and
sale of services and/or products. Of the
38 private sector companies
interviewed, 29 fall into this category.
Some examples include Clean Addis
Recycling in Ethiopia, Gjenge Makers
and Mr. Green Africa in Kenya, and
AgroPlast Ltd. in Rwanda.
USAID/BHA could benefit from
engaging with groups that use this
business model as they are likely to be
more established, have existed longer
in the communities in which they work,
and are more likely to be in a position
to overcome barriers to partnership
with USAID/BHA, such as long
timelines to partner and specific
operating requirements.
USAID.GOV CIRCULAR ECONOMY PSLA | 16
2.1.2 For Profit – Assisted
This model describes private sector businesses that intend to operate profitably, unassisted, but have not
yet achieved that goal. Like the category above, they operate through the production and sale of services
and products. However, the income generated from those services and products does not fully cover
their costs so they receive funding from other entities such as governments, grants, or NGOs to
maintain operations.. Six companies interviewed fall into this category (of 38 total private sector
companies). Big Ship Group, out of Kenya, is an example of this.
These companies can provide value to USAID/BHA through their niche knowledge of on the ground
operations, local actors, value of various waste types, and proven models for involving communities. This
can help USAID understand local waste management operations, identify formal and informal enterprises
in the space, and identify high-value waste types.
2.1.3 Public-Private Partnership
This business model describes the collaboration between a government agency and a private sector
company to collectively finance and build projects. While common elsewhere in the development space,
only one of the companies interviewed reported that they were in a public-private partnership (PPP):
Enviroserve Rwanda Green Park. The PPP model could be a valuable way for USAID/BHA to provide
private sector companies with additional financial streams to further invest in their companies and better
serve SWM needs.
2.1.4 Non-Profit-Driven
The PSLA team only interviewed one non-profit that operates in the circular economy of packaging
waste: PETCO Ethiopia. It is important to note that PETCO Ethiopia does not process waste
themselves, but rather promotes recycling education and awareness. However, participation of
non-profit organizations like PETCO have played a vital role in the industry through raising awareness on
waste management safety and other best practices for SMEs. Other notable examples were the Red
Cross Kenya Waste Packaging in Dadaab Refugee Camp. A challenge with non-profits in this model is
that SWM operations are expensive and largely undertaken within a limited donor allowed timeframe. If
the NGO is not making a profit through their SWM operations, the operations may struggle to scale
effectively and modernize to meet future demand.
2.1.5 Government
These organizations are part of, or dependent on, funding from national, local, international, or regional
government actors to operate their business. Of the companies interviewed, two were
government-funded or connected: Bamato Environmental and Sanitation Project in Kenya and Cambridge
Industries in Ethiopia. Partnerships with businesses that rely on government funds may run into the same
problems as partnerships with NGOs, in that they may have limited or unsustainable funding, and may
not be able to adapt quickly enough to market needs. While a mature organization run by an
administration that is informed and dedicated to environmental programs may be more reliable, this will
vary significantly by country.
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2.2 Kenya Findings
Humanitarian Assistance
Up to two million people in Kenya face food insecurity and other emergencies, including malnutrition,
conflict, and drought. Several years of record low rainfall levels have resulted in poor harvests and
declining livestock conditions, causing a greater need for humanitarian assistance (Kenya National
Drought Management Authority, 2021). The humanitarian situation in Kenya has been worsened by the
COVID-19 pandemic, while occurring against a backdrop of drought, floods, and a locust infestation.
All of these factors have exacerbated existing vulnerabilities across Kenya, particularly for the urban
poor, migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers (OCHA, 2020). As such, humanitarian assistance in Kenya
has increasingly focused on expanding livelihood opportunities for women, youth, and traditionally
marginalized groups and strengthening market systems (USAID Kenya and East Africa, 2020).
Waste Management Sector
Kenya generates an estimated 22,000 tons of waste per day and eight million tons per year for its
current population of 45 million people, with 40 percent of that waste originating from urban areas
(GIZ, 2019). Most waste ends up in rivers or on streets, or is burned, posing numerous health and
environmental concerns for the country; the remaining waste is disposed of in urban landfills. Major
types of waste include industrial (25 percent), commercial (20 percent), domestic (45 percent), and
agricultural (10 percent) (NEMA, 2014). Household waste is poorly managed countrywide due to a lack
of collection points and awareness of proper waste disposal. By 2030, urbanization in Kenya is estimated
to increase by ten percent, and waste generation is expected to reach 5.5 million tons of waste annually
(Kaudia, 2018).
Relevant Policies
Effective, sustainable waste management is a key national priority for Kenya. The Ministry of
Environment and Forestry (MoEF), the Ministry of Trade and Industrialization (MoTI), and multilateral
agencies have developed legal and policy frameworks to ensure policy priorities are budgeted and
appropriated for greener initiatives. Kenya plans to embed circular approaches in recycling and waste
management sectors to improve SWM (KIPPRA, 2021). The following laws are pushing Kenya toward a
more holistic and circular framework for sustainable waste management. Successful adoption of these
new policies will depend upon how effectively and consistently the laws are enforced.
● The Environmental Management and Coordination Act (EMCA, 2015) and EMCA (1999) is the
framework act on environmental management and conservation. The EMCA established, among
others, the following institutions: National Environment Management Authority, Public Complaints
Committee, National Environment Tribunal, National Environment Action Plan Committees, and
County Environment Committees.
● The Sustainable Waste Management Bill established a legal and institutional framework for greener
waste management, the right to a clean and healthy environment for all, and tax incentives for
circular economy businesses (KEPSA, 2019).
● The Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Action (NAMA) on a Circular Economy Municipal Solid
Waste Management Approach for Urban Areas in Kenya promotes the diversion of 90 percent of
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collected waste from disposal sites towards various recycling practices, and an alternative to the
existing waste value chain (Republic of Kenya Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources, 2017).
● The Green Economy Strategy and Implementation Plan calls for separation and waste collection at
the source and aims to recover 50 percent of recyclable waste and compositing (KEPSA, 2019).
● The National Environmental Management Authority (NEMA) Waste Management Strategy
establishes a common platform for action between stakeholders to systematically improve waste
management in Kenya by creating employment opportunities and reducing environmental pollution
(NEMA, 2014). NEMA also published the Waste Management Regulations (2006), which define rules
for the management of waste in general and for the management of solid waste, industrial waste,
hazardous waste, pesticides, and toxic substances, biomedical waste, and radioactive substances.
● Kenya instituted a ban on plastic bags in 2017 (BBC News, 2017), and recently banned single-use
plastics in protected areas (UNEP, 2020b).
Private Sector Engagement in PackagingWaste
The Kenya Plastics Action Plan outlines long-term plans for engaging the private sector on the
sustainable manufacture, use, recycling, and disposal of plastics. In Kenya, the plastics sector feeds into
about 90 percent of locally manufactured products and is primarily used for packaging (KEPSA, 2019). Of
the waste generated by Nairobi in 2020, only 45 percent was able to be recycled, reused, or converted
for additional use (World Bank, 2021a). Several social enterprises have originated in recent years, such as
Gjenge Makers and Taka Taka Solutions, that use plastics to develop alternative building materials and
other repurposed items. Gjenge Maker turns recycled plastic into construction materials, like bricks, and
has recycled 20 tons of plastic and created 120 jobs in Nairobi since 2017 (Hasty, 2021). Taka Taka
Solutions is a waste collection and resource recycling business that creates jobs for youths from lower
income areas and provides training to local communities on waste separation (United Nations
Framework Convention on Climate Change, 2021).
2.3 Ethiopia Findings
Humanitarian Assistance
Ethiopia is a major recipient of humanitarian assistance in Africa, with more than four million internally
displaced peoples (IDPs) sheltered in the country in 2021 (USAID, 2021). Ongoing conflict, desert locust
invasion,recurring climatic shocks such as floods and droughts, and the socioeconomic impact of
COVID-19 are the key drivers of food insecurity and humanitarian needs in Ethiopia (OCHA, 2021).
Populations across Ethiopia—including portions of the Afar,Amhara, Benishangul-Gumuz, Oromia,
Somali, and Tigray regions—will likely continue to experience record-high levels of food insecurity
through at least the middle of 2022 (UN, 2021).
There are over 70 international humanitarian assistance organizations (HAOs) actively operating in
Ethiopia. The new Civil Societies Proclamation introduces a number of positive changes, including clear
recognition of the right to operational freedom, the lifting of restrictions on finances considered
“foreign,” particularly for those working on human rights, and expansion of fundraising capabilities
(UNHCR, 2019).
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Waste Management Sector
Ethiopia lacks proper solid waste management practices and protocols. About 20 to 30 percent of the
waste generated in Addis Ababa remains uncollected (Tilaye, 2014b). The country’s recent economic
growth has been accompanied by rapid urbanization, which has stressed cities’ infrastructure and
municipal services, including municipal solid waste management. In Addis Ababa, waste generation is
rising at a rate of five percent each year. According to existing SWM practices in Addis Ababa, it is
estimated that solid waste is generated at about 0.45 kg per capita per day. The physical composition of
solid waste includes: 17.4% recyclable, 74.3% biodegradable organic, and 8.3% potentially hazardous
waste (Gelan, 2021). Inadequate solid waste management increasingly threatens the health and
livelihoods of the city’s inhabitants and the environment (World Bank, 2021b).
In 2018, the country transformed
the Koshe dump site, the only
landfill in Addis Ababa, into the
first waste-to-energy plant. The
plant has plans to incinerate up to
1,400 tons of waste every
day—roughly 80 percent of the
city’s waste (UNEP, 2019). In
Addis Ababa, community
awareness of SWM has been
improving, with more than 70
percent of community members
willing to pay for door-to-door
solid waste collection services
(Dika, 2019). As noted by a
representative of the waste
management company Cambridge
Industries, Ethiopia has a long
culture of reuse, although popular
culture has recently started to
erode this system of reuse
(Cambridge Industries, 2021).
Relevant Policies
There are a number of policies and regulations Ethiopia has enacted that significantly affect its waste
management practices.
● In 2011, the Government of Ethiopia introduced a ban on the production and importation of
non-biodegradable plastic bags (The Africa Report, 2011).
● Ethiopia’s 2011 Climate Resilience and Green Economy (CRGE) Strategy identified building green
cities as a key priority,specifically improving waste management in growing cities (FDRE, 2011).
● In 2017, Ethiopia released its Policy for the Use and Implementation of Public-Private Partnerships,
which provides a framework for promoting partnerships as part of the country’s pursuit of green
growth (UNEP, 2020a).
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● Solid waste handling is regulated in the Government’s “Solid Waste Management Proclamation” from
2007, empowered by its Environmental Protection Agency. Responsibility is passed down to the
lowest administrative levels of the local governments, with the objective also to include private
households and public participation in waste segregation (GIZ, 2020).
Private Sector Engagement in PackagingWaste
In 2004, the city government of Addis Ababa intervened in solid waste collection by institutionalizing
micro-enterprises in a plan to privatize and regulate SWM (Tilaye, 2014a). Municipal waste management
companies collect municipal waste and bring it to landfills while informal collectors and so-called
“Korales” gather recyclables from streets and landfills (GIZ, 2020).
As part of the reforms, the city government promoted integrated SWM by local administrations and
strengthened the role of formal, informal, public, and private sector actors in solid waste collection,
transportation, disposal, and recycling activities and instituted aspects of Extended Producer
Responsibility (FDRE, 2003). Unfortunately, these laws are poorly implemented. Only six out of eleven
regions had established regional environmental authorities in 2020, which would regulate and implement
recycling policies (GIZ, 2020). Several companies are involved in waste management and recycling in
Ethiopia, but most of them operate exclusively in populated areas in and around Addis Ababa due to
transportation, technology,supply, and other factors.
2.4 Challenges to Private Sector Engagement in PackagingWaste
During Phase 1 and Phase 2 interviews, the PSLA team identified several challenges to private sector
engagement in packaging waste management. This includes both challenges the private sector faces in
packaging waste management, as well as challenges for the private sector in engaging with HAOs for
waste management initiatives.These are listed and categorized below.
Challenges faced by the private sector in engaging with packaging waste management:
2.4.1 Finances
Access to finance was most commonly cited by interviewees; 31 of the 38 private
sector actors interviewed identified lack of access to finance as a key challenge.
Lack of finance from local institutions impedes the emergence and growth of
financially viable enterprises. Access to financial services (i.e., credit and insurance)
is a challenge due to the risk-averse nature of financial institutions in the region,
which are often unaware of circular economy business models. Impact Madagascar
noted that local SWM companies have little capacity to expand their businesses and purchase the
necessary machinery due to limited access to capital (Impact Madagascar, 2021. In both Kenya and
Ethiopia, limited access to finance and limited investment in waste infrastructure makes entrance or
expansion in the waste management sector difficult, particularly for small and medium enterprises
(SMEs).
2.4.2 Logistics
The logistics of collecting, sorting, storing, and transporting large amounts of waste
remains a challenge for the private sector. This is partly due to a lack of
infrastructure and trucks to move the materials. Additionally, transportation over
large areas is costly. The Recycler, a Tanzanian recycling company, noted, “The cost
USAID.GOV CIRCULAR ECONOMY PSLA | 21
of transport and the process of organizing reverse logistics around recycling material is a big
challenge—you have to think about how to get waste from one location to another where it will be able
to be recycled and used as another purpose.” (The Recycler, 2021). Additionally, most Sub-Saharan
African cities and towns do not have the necessary logistics, procedures, or infrastructure for separating
waste by material type, which is important for efficient recycling. Separating waste by material type at
the source reduces material contamination and can create additional jobs to help sort the materials on
site, reduce cost of separating the materials at a recycling facility, and an increase in revenue for the
recycled material due to lower contamination rates (Kihila, et al., 2021).
2.4.3 Infrastructure
The lack of infrastructure along the supply chain, including insufficient recycling
points and composting facilities, poses an additional challenge for the private
sector. For example, a waste collector has minimal financial incentive to travel
outside of a city center to collect a relatively small amount of waste from a refugee
camp, because transportation routes are costly and limited. Additionally, the
investments required for infrastructure are often expensive but necessary, particularly for waste
collection and treatment, to support the transition to a circular economy approach to waste
management. Gjenge Makers noted that their production capacity is limited by a lack of access to
machinery and that if they could expand production, they would recycle more and enhance the circular
economy systems that are currently in place (Gjenge Makers, 2021).
2.4.4 Awareness and Advocacy
Almost all private sector companies identified a lack of knowledge of the problem
of waste, especially plastic waste, by governments and citizens as a hindrance to
waste management. While waste within humanitarian camps may be sorted into
human, organic, and recyclables, if the recyclables are not sorted before disposal,
it will hinder collection and further sorting by SWM companies. Seradelis Waste
Management in Kenya noted that “despite collection bins being marked plastic,
metal, etc., citizens are still not responsible enough to sort them out. This is a big
challenge considering the time and cost involved in sorting” (Seradelis Waste Management, 2021). When
waste is not managed effectively, this creates difficulties with waste management down the value chain.
Additionally, many private sector organizations in Kenya and Ethiopia have not engaged with HAOs and
are unaware of how to engage. This lack of clarity prevents collaboration with HAOs. Of the 38 private
sector companies interviewed, only 15 had formally engaged with HAOs, 11 were aware of the
possibility of engaging with HAOs, and 12 had no experience whatsoever.
2.4.5 Behavior
Increased levels of awareness of waste separation and of the negative impacts of
packaging pollution is necessary for there to be a collective change in public waste
disposal. However, increased awareness does not automatically translate to
behavior change and waste management infrastructure needs to be in place before
awareness can begin. Ugandan recycler Yo Waste noted that a big challenge for
them has been that the concept of recycling is new to most people in Uganda and
household waste is usually not sorted before disposal. Recently, the company launched a free residential
plastic pick-up service, showing local residents how to separate waste and providing them with waste
receptacles to influence behavior change (YoWaste, 2021).
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2.4.6 Markets
The recycling market plays a large role in global trade, fueled by growing demand
for raw materials in emerging economies. The value of the waste internationally,
notably plastic waste, can be heavily influenced by the cost of oil and international
markets; such influence can create severe changes in waste value. When oil is
cheap, it is more cost effective to produce virgin plastics than to pay for recycled
plastic, and vice versa (Szczepanski, 2016). The value of oil greatly affects the value
of recycled plastics and can make the economics of a recycling operation
challenging. he Ugandan recycler and plastics manufacturer Plawaste Group reduced the amount of PET
they process due to China’s National Sword Policy and similar regulations in India and Taiwan to ensure
5
their products are better insulated from global market changes (Plawaste Group, 2021). Trade in
recycled materials plays a large part in international markets, with the recycling market becoming
increasingly globalized. Growth in demand from these highly populated, rapidly growing economies is
driving a sustained trend in rising commodity prices while increasing demand for recycled materials.
Finally, as indicated in Section 2 above, PET is the most common material for the private recycling
market; however, PET is not a common material used by HAOs for relief packaging, in which case there
would not be a strong business case for companies to connect with HAOs for packaging waste
management purposes.
2.4.7 Supply
Recyclers need a continuous, reliable supply of waste to process. Often, HAOs
cannot commit to a specific amount of waste for a given timeframe, posing a risk for
a potential private sector partner. An interview with the International Organization
for Migration (IOM) noted, “Profitability is another challenge. It can be difficult to find
value in waste, especially if the supply of waste is low-quality materials (especially
plastics), and therefore it can be hard to find value in the services” (IOM, 2021). A measurable and
reliable stream of waste is a lower risk for a private sector waste management company because they
can calculate if the engagement is financially viable.
2.4.8 Taxation and Regulation
High importation taxes on waste management equipment and technology as well as
regulations banning waste transportation across administrative borders can restrict
companies’ abilities to expand operations. For example, a representative from DK
PLC in Ethiopia said, “The domestic import tax policy is high for importing
processing and recycling machineries, and importing trucks is almost impossible due
to the high excise tax requested on it. The waste transporters charge high fees
since they are small in number” (DK PLC, 2021).
2.4.9 Labor
End-of-life management relies heavily on informal and formal labor, which increases
the costs for organizing, facilitating, and operating such enterprises. Adequate training
of informal workers is needed to ensure the waste is managed properly for
subsequent processing. “It’s all about training,” said a representative from DA
Packaging PLC. “If people collect materials, we find it’s not up to our standard to use
5 This policy, which took effect on January 1, 2018, bans the import of most plastics for recycling.
USAID.GOV CIRCULAR ECONOMY PSLA | 23
in our machines. It creates a kind of disagreement between the factory and the collectors” (DA
Packaging PLC, 2021). Additionally, containment measures to slow the spread of the COVID-19 virus in
developing countries have resulted in disruptions, resulting in job losses and financial deterioration
across the public and private sectors (IFC, 2020).
Challenges faced by the private sector in engaging with HAOs for humanitarian packaging
waste:
2.4.10 Humanitarian Operations and Processes
HAOs in Kenya and Ethiopia are not accustomed to working with the private
sector, and many have not built up robust private sector engagement (PSE)
capacity and planning. The time it takes to partner with development or
humanitarian actors and their specific requirements for contractors can be a
deterrent for some waste management companies. “There’s a lot of red tape and
long processes that often don’t result in anything material. It took us a long time
to sign something with [a large donor], and they still haven’t collected waste. Is it
really worth putting time into these types of organizations?” said a representative from Mr. Green, a
waste management company in Kenya (Mr. Green, 2021).
2.4.11 Internal Planning
A lack of waste management planning by HAOs has detrimental effects on SWM
including waste mixing and thus value reduction, waste contamination, lack of waste
data, and inefficient or nonexistent private sector engagement. “Is there a
humanitarian standard for waste management? Waste management is taking place,
but there is no standard way—we don’t have the knowledge or agreed approach on
how to tackle waste management,” (Global Logistics Cluster, 2021). Because many
HAOs do not have waste management plans that address sorting waste on site or
estimating the volume of that type of waste, it is difficult for waste management organizations to engage.
Waste management organizations are reluctant to send trucks to collect waste without knowing the
volume as they may over or underestimate the trucks (an expensive error) and the contaminated waste
may not cover the cost of the waste management.
USAID.GOV CIRCULAR ECONOMY PSLA | 24
3. OPPORTUNITIES AND
RECOMMENDATIONS
Cross-Cutting Opportunities
While private sector interviewees mentioned several cross-cutting challenges to engaging in waste
management, the PSLA team also identified opportunities and recommendations for how USAID/BHA
can work with the private sector in addressing some challenges directly.They are categorized and
described below.
3.1 Institute InternalWaste Management Procedures
Most HAOs do not have internal plans to track, categorize, or manage the
packaging waste created by humanitarian assistance. Several HAOs noted that
when managing on-the-ground operations, they prioritize assistance provision over
waste management. Additionally, the team found limited examples of standard
6
operating procedures for solid waste management in camps, sites, or
organizations, leaving ambiguity in waste management responsibility. Thus, HAOs
do not sort the waste to optimize what can be recycled and they are currently
unable to accurately track the volume of waste on-site that would be ready for
pickup. Not having and implementing an internal waste management plan creates a major barrier for
SWM businesses and organizations, as they cannot accurately assess the business value of picking up and
managing that waste, especially since the waste available has a high likelihood of being low quality.
Opportunities
HAOs interested in improving the end-of-life management of packaging materials have the opportunity
to establish waste management norms and best practices in collaboration with private sector actors and
the Joint Initiative . Each site would tailor this framework to meet the requirements based on their
7
unique circumstances. While some HAO administrative offices in populated areas have their waste
managed through local waste management collection services, these plans would apply specifically to
camps and dispersed sites in the target geographies.
Recommendations
USAID/BHA could partner with SWM companies and HAOs in the areas with large humanitarian
operations to create a waste management plan framework to sort and track the waste created in both
camps and dispersed sites. The framework should ensure the waste is sorted appropriately (i.e., organic,
plastic, cardboard/paper, metal, and e-waste), establish a methodology for accurately estimating the
7
In addition to end of life solutions, the Joint Initiative is mapping available recycling infrastructure in operating
countries.
6 PSLA interviews with CARE Denmark, Global Camp Coordination and Camp Management Cluster, Global
Livingston Institute, and Global Shelter Cluster, UNEP, 2021.
USAID.GOV CIRCULAR ECONOMY PSLA | 25
baseline and future waste volume and composition rates from camps and dispersed sites (EPA), and
include a plan to aggregate and consolidate the waste for transportation.
8
● For camps, this framework would integrate with camp creation and management plans to ensure
that there are appropriately distanced collection points for each type of waste. This plan could
include opportunities to provide camp residents with employment to assist with managing the
sorting and tracking of the waste and act as advocates within the camp to make residents aware of
the need to sort waste and where it should be disposed.
● For dispersed sites, USAID/BHA can establish the same guidelines for sorting and tracking volume
with partners as with campsites, but create strategically dispersed waste drop-off points for the
different types of waste to be collected.
Next Steps
1. Develop a waste management framework that covers the three basic components (waste sorting,
tracking, and consolidation) while allowing for specific adaptation to different geographies where
HAOs operate, through the following tasks:
a. Establish a multi-stakeholder group to lead the development and distribution of the waste
management framework for HAOs. Ensure that the group has the buy-in and participation of
senior leaders at each organization who can help facilitate wider approval of this framework.
Engage private sector SWM subject matter experts to ensure the framework aligns with
industry needs and standards.
b. Evaluate HAOs’ existing waste management plans for packaging waste to identify gaps,
particularly around the inclusion of waste sorting, tracking, and consolidating.
c. Evaluate any operational barriers, concerns, and hesitations to implement the three components
and establish frameworks for addressing these barriers.
2. Reach out to private sector organizations and governments to better understand the level of existing
infrastructure through waste flow mapping, relevant regulations, and interests and hesitations the
private sector organization may have in partnering with HAOs. Incorporate these considerations
into the framework.
3. Develop a comprehensive waste management framework that all HAOs can customize. The
framework may need to be customized by country according to the needs and priorities of various
USAID/BHA offices and HAOs.
4. Share the framework widely amongst HAOs so each may adapt it for their own operations and share
with local governments to inform waste management infrastructure needs.
Partnership Opportunities
BHA can act as a thought leader and convener and should partner with waste management organizations
and subject matter experts, other HAOs, the Joint Environment Unit, and the greater network of USAID
at large. Initial discussions with other HAOs in the space could help inform an understanding of any
8 The main methods for measuring waste volumes are modeling and physical measurement. Modeling involves
using generic waste generation rates from a similar community to estimate future waste volumes, and though
this approach is cost-effective, it increases the likelihood of miscalculating waste volumes. Physical
measurements are more accurate but also more expensive, and involve sampling the waste stream at
camps/dispersed sites to develop a waste profile through statistical methods to estimate future waste volumes.
There are a number of physical measurement techniques that can be applied based on the context and areas
such as measuring a sample at the point of generation, examining records maintained by waste generators, and
conducting waste vehicle or transfer station surveys.
USAID.GOV CIRCULAR ECONOMY PSLA | 26
existing plans to examine and build from. The United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP) and WFP
are in various stages of developing waste management policies and could be good thought partners in
establishing a framework for USAID/BHA and its HAO partners. PLAWASTE Group, Cambridge
Industries, and the Big Ship Group span several sections of the value chain and can be potential thought
partners in understanding local waste management process capabilities and infrastructure.
3.2 Partner with Private Sector Actors
Most private sector actors the team interviewed stated they were unaware of the
opportunity to engage HAOs on in-field humanitarian packaging waste
management. Additionally, there is a perception from some private sector actors
that the timeline and due diligence requirements to establish a partnership with an
HAO are prohibitive.
Opportunities
There is an opportunity to improve the awareness of partnerships between USAID/BHA, HAOs, and
private sector actors. HAOs can identify and share specific partnership opportunities with private sector
SWM actors. HAOs can share these partnership opportunities locally—through their own
communication channels and directly with SMEs, SWM associations, and PETCOs—and regionally
through development partners and circular economy networks like UNEP, the Joint Initiative, OCHA,
and the African Circular Economy Alliance. Additionally, HAOs can work with private sector actors to
help remove barriers to partnership, such as long timelines to establish partnership and complex due
diligence requirements.
Recommendations
USAID/BHA should build direct relationships with private sector organizations in the SWM sector and
connect them with implementing partners, while also encouraging implementing partners to directly
reach out to the private sector to open lines of communication. Establishing these relationships will help
USAID/BHA and implementing partners socialize opportunities and roles for private sector
organizations to engage in humanitarian operations as subject matter experts, advocates, collectors,
balers, logistics managers, policy experts, etc. This will help the private sector better understand how
they can work with HAOs.
Next Steps
1. For HAOs interested in working with the private sector, identify specific ways in which the HAO
would like to engage the private sector. Are they looking for a subject matter expert? An on-site
sorting manager? A baler operator? Logistics? A fleet of trucks? Establish the end-of-life management
needs with a clear idea of how the private sector actor could engage.
2. Begin or continue building relationships with private sector actors in the target geography, leveraging
companies interviewed in the PSLA (see Annex 5.3). Share the partnership opportunities with the
private sector so that they can get a clear understanding of the opportunity and see the willingness
of HAOs to engage.
3. As opportunities for partnership between HAOs and the private sector arise, share them widely
through local channels and relationships. Provide clear information on the timeline to establish the
partnership and the requirements that the private sector partner must meet so that the private
USAID.GOV CIRCULAR ECONOMY PSLA | 27
sector actors can have a clear idea of the opportunity. Ensure that relationships and communication
channels remain open and supportive of the private sector actor’s questions about the opportunity.
4. Continue to build upon the established relationships and partnerships by co-creating partnership
opportunities, running workshops on waste management needs of HAOs and other relevant topics,
and maintaining forums for knowledge sharing.
5. Communicate partnership opportunities for private sector SWM organizations focused on
end-of-life packaging waste, e.g., SMEs that collect, bale, or transport waste.
Partnership Opportunities
USAID/BHA can act as a facilitator and broker to establish partnerships with private sector SWM
companies in the target geographies and between private sector SWM companies and other HAOs with
interest in managing their end-of-life packaging. While many interviewees mentioned a desire for
USAID-provided funding, the following companies had specific ideas about USAID and USAID/BHA
partnerships and the PSLA recommends reaching out to explore value chain partnerships: Asante Waste
Management, DK PLC and Tsidu Waste Recycling, EKT Trade and Investment PLC, Bizsmart Enterprises
Ltd (Go GREEN), Impact Madagascar, and PLAWASTE GROUP.
Country-Specific Opportunities
3.3 Catalyze Finance forWaste Management Infrastructure
3.3.1 Kenya
Kenya lacks adequate financing mechanisms for waste management infrastructure
(NEMA, 2019). Limited political and economic prioritization of waste management
has resulted in inadequate budgetary allocations both by government and private
financiers. Banks and other formal lenders do not fully understand how they can
be involved profitably in the waste management sector, partly due to lack of
knowledge and the complicated and unregulated nature of the sector. This lack of
financing particularly impacts SMEs, which have less opportunity to adopt
appropriate technologies, acquire equipment, and improve their businesses. Thus, most SMEs have to
rely on personal savings and soft loans from friends and networks to expand their businesses (Kenya
Bankers Association, 2020).
Opportunities
While the waste management sector in Kenya lacks sufficient finance from existing mechanisms,
emerging policies and financing strategies hold promise for funding circular economy initiatives, waste
management SMEs, and informal sector players (NEMA, 2014). In Kenya, refugee camps provide an
opportunity for cultivating commercially viable circular economy enterprises that can access new finance
mechanisms. In Dadaab for instance, there are 220,000 refugees, generating at least 80 tons of waste
daily (UNHCR, 2021). Such a large scale of waste indicates adequate supply can be generated to support
profitable recycling and waste management businesses.
HAOs have also demonstrated interest in expanding financing of waste management. For example, the
Red Cross has promoted financing and partnerships with the private sector to demonstrate that grant
funding from HAOs for logistics and transportation of waste—from camps to final processing
USAID.GOV CIRCULAR ECONOMY PSLA | 28
plants—can facilitate private sector investment and market-based models for waste management in
humanitarian operations (ILO, 2019).
Recent Kenyan policies and green financing programs also pave the way for increased financing for the
waste management and circular economy sectors. The Kenyan government has established a Green
Financing Programme that can be leveraged to finance circular economy waste management companies
and infrastructure, with the government funding USD $2.4 billion in climate-related investments in 2018
(Climate Policy Initiative, 2021). Kenya’s National Waste Management Bill establishes incentives for
improved waste management and financing of waste management by county governments. The incentives
include transfers of funds or preferential access to finance and grants and award schemes and special
funds for the informal sector (KEPSA, 2019). They apply to (a) importers of sustainable waste
management equipment, air pollution control equipment, and recycling and composting equipment; (b)
investors to expand their investment in waste recycling and circular economy enterprises; and (c)
operators of certain classes of waste management equipment, including equipment for recycling and
composting (KEPSA, 2019).
… it will be viable if USAID/BHA can partner with recyclers like us and
cost share on supplying the informal sector with small machines for
cleaning and baling.”
— EKT Trading, 2021
Recommendations
USAID can collaborate with USAID/Kenya and U.S. Government agencies like the Development Finance
Corporation (DFC) and the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) to develop innovative financial
mechanisms that coordinate public, private, and donor funds to scale financing in circular economy
business models and waste management infrastructure in Kenya, including with humanitarian operations.
There are a number of actions USAID and USAID/BHA can take to mobilize, finance, and develop new
mechanisms for funding circular economy approaches. For one, USAID can facilitate and provide
technical assistance and training to waste management SMEs to strengthen their business and financial
management skills to prepare for financing. Additionally, USAID can provide conditional or
pay-for-results grants jointly with HAOs and SWM companies (for infrastructure and equipment) to pilot
and demonstrate private sector waste management initiatives connected to humanitarian operations.
Catalyzing long-term finance of recycling and other circular business models will require engaging
financial institutions in developing long-term finance mechanisms. USAID and USAID/BHA can identify
and rank waste management financing opportunities in humanitarian operations and develop
recommendations on the most suitable financial mechanisms.
Next Steps
1. Engage other HAO finance-focused initiatives like the Internal Labour Organization’s (ILO)
PROSPECTS and UNHCR’s Doing Business in Dadaab to identify and rank waste management
financing opportunities in humanitarian operations, and develop recommendations on the types of
financing instruments needed for SMEs, transporters, big processors, and others in the SWM sector.
USAID.GOV CIRCULAR ECONOMY PSLA | 29
2. Engage development partner finance programs and initiatives like the Africa Enterprise Challenge
Fund to co-develop training and workshops for financial institutions to improve the understanding of
circular economy business models and develop tailored financial products for the SWM sector.
3. Support the development of alternative financing mechanisms including blended finance,
pay-for-results, and impact investments that support financing of waste management SMEs and
infrastructure.
Partnership Opportunities
USAID/BHA can engage with ILO PROSPECTS and UNHCR’s Doing Business in Dadaab to identify and
rank waste management financing opportunities in humanitarian operations. USAID can also work with
USAID/Kenya and the DFC to scope, design, and catalyze finance mechanisms and funds for circular
economy business models, prioritizing the waste management sector connected with humanitarian
operations. Other potential partners include the Kenya Association of Manufacturers, Global
Environment Facility (GEF) that is planning a large plastics program, and the Kenya National Environment
Trust Fund State Corporation established by the Environmental Management and Coordination Act of
1999, National Appropriate Mitigation Action.
3.3.2 Ethiopia
One of the main challenges for the private sector in Ethiopia, including the SWM
sector, is the underdeveloped formal financial system with limited range of financial
products and services available to support businesses, especially SMEs. Lending in
Ethiopia is based on a collateral system with high collateral requirements for loans.
Also, a lengthy and complicated loan process often discourages most SMEs from
even applying. All of the private sector recyclers interviewed indicated that the
long loan process and collateral requirements limits their operational capacity for
effective waste management. The lack of a stock market and investment banks limits access to long-term
financing for many businesses, and financial institutions have a limited understanding of the financial
return, risk profile, and environmental and social benefits of emerging businesses and sectors, including
the circular economy and waste management sectors. The banking industry is also closed to
international investors and dominated by state-owned institutions, even larger businesses are blocked
from receiving loans from foreign banks.
Opportunities
Despite the significant barriers in the financial market, there has been growth in the number of NGOs in
Ethiopia providing grants to SMEs and youth and women entrepreneurs for innovative solutions to
address environmental issues. These grant programs could offer financing support to SMEs and informal
worker micro-associations in SWM, while bringing in more private financing in Ethiopia.
There are also a number of current and future development programs that USAID/BHA and
USAID/Ethiopia can leverage that address SME and circular economy-related financing in Ethiopia. The
World Bank, through its Ethiopia SME Finance Project, is developing a credit facility for banks to on-lend
to SMEs, improving the enabling environment for SME finance, and providing business development
services to SMEs to make them more bankable (World Bank, 2021c). The UNEP Finance Initiative is a
global partnership established with the financial sector to mobilize private sector finance for sustainable
development, including commitments to pursue best practices in recycling and waste reduction (UNEP,
USAID.GOV CIRCULAR ECONOMY PSLA | 30
2011). The African Development Bank (AfDB) is also developing a Green Growth Investment Program in
Africa focused on waste management and the circular economy, which will include a near-term focus on
unlocking opportunities for public, private, and public-private investment projects in Algeria, Ethiopia,
and Rwanda.
Recommendations
USAID/BHA can collaborate
with USAID/Ethiopia, other
development partners, and U.S.
Government entities like DFC
to establish a solid waste
management SME finance facility
to support companies in
purchasing waste sorting,
collection, and management
machinery, and other critical
technologies. USAID/BHA can
also engage USAID and NGOs
to co-fund grants to SMEs to
pilot and demonstrate private
sector waste management
initiatives connected to
humanitarian operations, and
mobilize blended finance with
national governments for larger
infrastructure investments in
reuse and recycling. Finally, USAID/BHA can partner with SME recyclers to co-finance small machinery
for informal sector workers for cleaning and baling at humanitarian sites.
Next Steps
1. Define and rank waste management opportunities connected to humanitarian operations based on
their potential to attract financing and investment. Identify the types of finance needed by private
recyclers, transporters, and large processors, and engage different financing sources (development
organizations, private financiers, and public sector) to identify interest and linkages with investment
opportunities and private sector financing needs.
2. Link with current USAID/Ethiopia programs supporting investment and financing in renewable
energy and sustainable landscapes programs, and explore expansion to circular economy models and
SMEs in waste management.
3. Partner with local country-based fund managers, financial institutions, banks, and private recyclers
for grant and fund facilitation.
Partnership Opportunities
USAID/BHA can collaborate with development organizations, such as the World Bank, UNEP, and AfDB,
who implement SME finance and/or investment in circular economy approaches to waste management.
USAID/BHA can engage financial institutions (e.g., Addis Micro Finance, Eagle Micro Finance, Buna Bank,
USAID.GOV CIRCULAR ECONOMY PSLA | 31
Awash Bank, and Enat Bank) to build awareness of the circular economy and SWM business models, and
explore de-risking approaches to financing SMEs and the informal sector. Lastly, USAID can engage
private recyclers (e.g., EKT, NN Recycling, and Coba Impact) and private waste processors (e.g., D.A.
Packaging, Clean Addis, and Dynamic Sanitary Service) to identify financing needs and investment waste
management opportunities.
3.3.3 Lessons Learned for Other Geographies
Addressing SME financing. Many of the SMEs interviewed in Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, and
Madagascar highlighted access to finance as a significant challenge to scaling their businesses (see quote
for an example). As in Ethiopia and Kenya, SMEs in the waste management and recycling sector in these
four countries find it difficult to access finance from traditional financial institutions because of risk
aversion and lack of familiarity with circular business models. Many of the SMEs the PSLA team
interviewed mentioned they lacked capacity as a result of limited capital to purchase equipment to
mechanize and build collection and storage facilities. Several SME recyclers in Tanzania and Rwanda also
highlighted challenges with the cash intensity of their operations and the cost of cash-limiting investment
in the equipment, facilities, and infrastructure necessary for expanding operations (Agroplat Ltd and
Recycler, 2021) . Several organizations also mentioned the lack of public or public-private funding to set
up regional waste and recycling collection centers that could unlock collection and investment by the
private sector (Big Ship, Coca Cola, and Plawaste Group 2021).
It’s very difficult … to get traditional financing or asset
financing to improve machinery—they always have to save
up enough funds to buy something… financing is something
that probably everyone is going to talk about.”
—The Recycler, 2021
Scaling regional investment
in the circular economy and
SWM. Like the situation in
Ethiopia and Kenya, the
magnitude of circular economy
challenges, opportunities, and
capital needs of a range of
actors—from informal SMEs to
large businesses—across
Sub-Saharan Africa surpasses the
funds available from
governments and donors.
Traditional financial institutions
in the region have limited
understanding of the financial
return, risk profile, and
environmental and social
benefits of the circular economy
and waste management business
models.
USAID.GOV CIRCULAR ECONOMY PSLA | 32
USAID/BHA could collaborate with other parts of USAID and the U.S. Government, like DFC, MCC,
and USAID Green Cities to develop innovative financial mechanisms that coordinate public, private, and
donor financing to scale financing in circular economy business models and waste management
infrastructure, including leveraging climate-related funds such as the Adaptation Fund, the Global
Environment Facility, the Green Climate Fund, and the African Solidarity Trust Fund (WEF, 2021a).
Lessons can be drawn from successful USAID regional investment programs in Sub-Saharan Africa, such
as Power Africa’s expansion of clean energy solutions, to address critical barriers, bridge the financing
gap, de-risk investments in circular economy businesses in specific countries, and replicate and scale
them across the region.
3.4 Address Logistics andTransportation Barriers from Humanitarian
Site
3.4.1 Kenya
A major challenge and hindrance to effective circular economy approaches to
humanitarian packaging waste is the inaccessibility of sites by waste service
providers. Refugee and internally displaced peoples camps are located far away from
processors (the road distance from Nairobi to Dadaab and Kakuma Refugees camps
are roughly 475km and 730kms respectively ).Additionally, informal settlements in
9
densely populated areas with close-knit houses and poor road infrastructure make it
difficult for trucks to operate freely. In these areas, waste operators and SMEs use handcarts to collect
waste.
Transportation of waste in Kenya also relies on vehicles that are often poorly maintained and outdated;
frequent breakdowns routinely immobilize collection vehicles for extended periods of time (Wambui
Mugo, 2019). Another logistical challenge is the lack of waste segregation at the source. This leads to
mixed wastes that are not separated by recyclable and end-of-life products. In the rare cases when
sorting is successful, the challenge is compounded by the non-existence of vehicles that segregate
materials during transit, leading to remixing.
Within the humanitarian sector, waste management programs and recyclers working with humanitarian
actors lack balers and other equipment that can reduce the volume, thereby reducing the transport cost,
and increase the density of recyclable material.
Opportunities
The government of Kenya is increasingly emphasizing and planning for permanent settlements instead of
temporary camps. For example, in 2016, UN-Habitat started a project to plan, develop, and construct a
new refugee settlement in Kalobeyei, in northwestern Kenya, expected to host over 60,000 refugees
(UN Habitat, 2018). The Kalobeyei project has been designed to help shift the paradigm from
humanitarian support to sustainable development. The more permanent nature of settlement planning
presents an opportunity to plan for aggregation, logistics, and transportation of waste. The refugee camp
in Dadaab will also be turned into a settlement, which can be leveraged to create more strategic logistic
and transportation pathways.
9 Google Maps, accessed 10/22/2021.
USAID.GOV CIRCULAR ECONOMY PSLA | 33
Recommendations
USAID/BHA can work with humanitarian supply chains, NGOs, municipal governments, and private
sector actors to establish waste hubs and stations in key aggregation points within Kenyan counties.
These waste hubs would effectively be for waste sorting, classification, and packaging for markets. In
addition, USAID/BHA can work with humanitarian organizations and private sector actors to deploy
technologies such as balers and transport vehicles to enable and facilitate logistics improvements. As the
circular economy gains importance, USAID/BHA can also work with USAID to promote innovations in
circular economy transport and logistics through programs like the Development Innovation Ventures
(DIV).
Next Steps
1. Coordinate with HAOs to adopt collection and storage in their operating procedures.
2. Facilitate discussions with HAOs to explore changing transport procurement rules including return
waste packaging materials to regional depots or capital cities.
3. Partner with HAOs and recyclers to pilot balers and other technologies in select sites.
Partnership Opportunities
USAID/BHA can partner with informal waste collectors, self-help groups, NEMA, NGOs, landfills,
logistics service providers, KEPSA, and the Kenya Association of Waste Recyclers to adopt and
implement waste collection, waste aggregation, and improved logistics.
3.4.2 Ethiopia
The PSLA identified logistics and transportation as critical challenges to the
circular economy of humanitarian packaging waste. Humanitarian camps and sites
are mostly populated in rural areas of the country whereas recyclers and
processors are found in urban cities. Due to the distance, lack of reliable roads,
and insufficient availability of trucks, transportation costs are often prohibitively
high for recyclers. Additionally, the humanitarian assistance organizations interviewed noted that they
don’t have mechanisms for waste collection, storage, and sorting, which results in an inconsistent waste
supply for private sector actors.
HAO project sites are mostly far from Addis Ababa, with the cost of
transport being the main challenge.”
— DK PLC, 2021
Opportunities
Regional solid waste management offices in Ethiopia are interested and motivated to work with federal
initiatives related to solid waste management and environmental protection. Additionally, HAOs in
Ethiopia have initiated waste management projects in different refugee camps already, such as in Jewi,
Nguenyyiel, and Kebribeyah, which USAID/BHA can leverage for momentum and action on improving
logistics and transportation.
USAID.GOV CIRCULAR ECONOMY PSLA | 34
Recommendations
USAID/BHA can coordinate with HAOs to prearrange waste collection, sorting, and storage for proper
waste management in humanitarian camps and other sites. At the same time, USAID/BHA can assess and
pilot the development of depots or warehouses for aggregating and sorting waste collected from
humanitarian sites. These depots should be developed in coordination with regional governments and be
established within driving distance of Addis Ababa to enable access by private recyclers. Additionally,
USAID/BHA can coordinate with HAOs and logistics providers to facilitate reverse transportation of
sorted waste from humanitarian sites to regional depots or capital cities. USAID/BHA can also pilot
technologies that increase the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of transit through use of balers and
compactors.
Next Steps
1. USAID/BHA to coordinate with HAOs to prearrange waste collection, sorting, and storage in their
internal operating procedures.
2. USAID/BHA to facilitate and HAOs to coordinate with regional governments (regional solid waste
management offices, regional environmental offices, and regional land management offices) to assess
and pilot accessible waste storage depots.
3. USAID/BHA to facilitate discussions with HAOs to explore changing transport procurement rules,
including returning waste packaging materials to regional depots or capital cities.
4. USAID/BHA to partner with HAOs and private recyclers to pilot the availability and supply of bailers
and other technologies at selected sites.
Potential Partners
USAID/BHA can partner with active HAOs (e.g., UNHCR, WFP, and Mercy Corps), logistics and
transport companies, regional government offices (regional dry waste management offices and regional
land environment control offices), technology suppliers, and private recyclers (e.g., COBA Impact, EKT
PLC, DA Packaging, and NN Recycling). While the PSLA did not interview these companies, research
indicates that potential logistic and transport company partners include Pan Africa, MAACFA and Gate
AS, and Freighters and potential technology suppliers include Dante Trade Assistant, A.H. Saya PLC, and
Abadir Enterprise.
3.4.3 Lessons Learned for Other Geographies
Regional SWM technology and innovation initiative. Several SMEs interviewed in Rwanda,
Uganda, Nigeria, and Tanzania mentioned the cost of transportation as a key barrier to expanding
services to remote areas, and they had limited access locally to cost-effective technologies to increase
the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of transporting waste e.g., through use of balers, shredders, and
compactors (AgroPlast Ltd, Bin It Services Ltd, Environserve Rwanda Green Park, Plawaste, and Recylan
2021). USAID/BHA could work with USAID and other HAOs to launch a regional SWM technology and
innovation initiative in East Africa, which could support the piloting and distribution of waste collection
and sorting technology and exchange knowledge locally, nationally, and regionally about innovations that
address logistics and transportation challenges. USAID/BHA could also engage with the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology’s Lincoln Labs to introduce small-scale sorting machinery, such as mobile balers,
and work with HAOs like Care Denmark to implement training programs to create livelihoods for
refugees repairing and maintaining these machines locally. The technology and innovation initiative could
USAID.GOV CIRCULAR ECONOMY PSLA | 35
also link to the financing SWM infrastructure opportunity, by improving access to financing for SMEs to
purchase collection and compaction machinery and technology.
Logistics is the biggest challenge… It becomes expensive to
transport waste if it’s not baled.The easiest way to get around
that is to have logistics partners or bailing machinery.”
—YoWaste, 2021
Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) schemes to enable large scale collection. Waste
collection was mentioned as the most challenging and the most important aspect of most SWM value
chains in interviews with businesses in Ethiopia, Kenya, and other Sub-Saharan Africa. Coca Cola South
Africa and Aquila Recycling (Uganda) both suggested EPR schemes and programs as promising private
sector-led models for addressing and funding the collection of waste for recycling for large-scale
projects. Individual companies can finance waste collection for recycling when waste volumes are small,
but with larger amounts of waste, an EPR system with multiple companies investing may be needed to
keep collection and payback high. USAID/BHA can learn from the successful South Africa PETCO,
founded by Coca Cola and other companies, which established a PET Recycling Company in 2004
representing the country’s PET industry and financed by a voluntary levy paid by converters on PET
purchased. Coca Cola mentioned that they are looking to expand the EPR/PETCO model to additional
non-PET waste streams including closures, labels, aluminum cans, shrink wrap, cardboard, and more.
Recently-formed PETCOs in Kenya and Ethiopia could play a role in expanding industry involvement in
humanitarian packaging waste collection, with PETCO Ethiopia suggesting a role for BHA in supporting
temporary regional waste storage depots.
3.5 Facilitate Circular Economy Policy Advocacy
3.5.1 Kenya
Circular economy and recycling firms are challenged by policy gaps in the financial
sector—financial institutions do not have standard criteria, requirements, or
parameters for lending to and financing waste management and recycling
enterprises. High taxes on importing waste management and recycling equipment
decreases the opportunities and incentives for developing the sector.
SMEs are largely excluded from meaningful policy discussions in the waste
management and circular economy sectors. Thus, they are not able to contribute to fiscal and other
policy discussions that could accelerate progress in circular economy approaches.
Opportunities
While Kenya lacks favorable fiscal policies for end-of-life management, the country has established a
number of national-level frameworks that promote a more regulated and formalized waste management
sector. The National Solid Waste Management Strategy (NEMA, 2014) sets a vision for policies,
legislation, and economic instruments to promote sustainable management of solid waste and the
development and harmonization of county legislations on waste management. Furthermore, Nairobi and
Mombasa counties have already developed waste management bills under this strategy. Additionally,
Kenya has a number of institutional bodies that represent waste management and recycling businesses
that can be leveraged as platforms for policy and advocacy change. Such institutional bodies include the
USAID.GOV CIRCULAR ECONOMY PSLA | 36
Waste and Environment Management Association of Kenya (WEMAK), the Kenya Association of Waste
Recyclers (KAWR), and the Kenya Association of Manufacturers (KAM).
Recommendations
USAID/BHA and USAID can play an active role in prioritizing potential policy interventions to improve
packaging waste management and increase sustainability throughout the humanitarian assistance sector.
USAID/BHA and USAID can do this by facilitating engagement between policy-makers and private sector
associations such as KAWR, KAM, and WEMAK and increasing private sector opportunities for
participation, collaboration, and input into government policies and standards. While USAID is in a
better position to organize such platforms, USAID/BHA can contribute and provide expertise on topics
that affect their operations and partners. This can include facilitating connections between the platform
and their partners, providing targeted issue briefs regarding the need for humanitarian waste
management, and sharing insights regarding the field-level impacts of proposed policy changes.
Additionally, USAID can engage with the Secretariat of the African Circular Economy Alliance (ACEA),
which is a growing coalition of African nations dedicated to expanding the circular economy. Among
their other priorities, the ACEA serves as a platform for developing regional and domestic policies that
incentivize the circular economy. While neither Kenya nor Ethiopia are currently members of ACEA, the
ACEA is interested in engaging with both national governments and when they do, USAID can convene
private sector actors with the ACEA to develop policies that can encourage circular approaches to
humanitarian packaging waste.
Next Steps
1. USAID/BHA and USAID to support a rapid assessment of policy interventions that can improve
packaging waste management with private sector actors operating in humanitarian supply chains and
commodities.
2. USAID/BHA and USAID can validate the policy interventions with the Ministry of Interior (Refugee
Secretariat) through consultative workshops for policy advocacy and dialogue between relevant
Kenyan humanitarian agencies and private actors.
3. USAID can then work with apex entities, such as KEPSA, to promote a policy framework that
enables shifts in fiscal policies and subsidies for circular economy businesses as well as other
identified policy priorities.
Potential Partners
BHA can work with the Kenyan PPP Unit, NEMA, KEPSA, Kenya Association of Waste Recyclers,
Sustainable Agriculture and Natural Resource Management Africa (SANREM) , Kenya Association of
10
Manufacturers, and the Kenya Revenue Authority.
10 SANREM is an international non-governmental organization that aims to promote and implement agricultural development,
environmental management, sustainable development practices, policies, and strategies.These are done especially in Kenya
and in the East African region through practical programmes, projects and activities with communities, dissemination of
information, training, education, research, advocacy, and campaigning.
USAID.GOV CIRCULAR ECONOMY PSLA | 37
3.5.2 Ethiopia
Even though the Ethiopian government has indicated their interest and disposition
for circular waste management, the policy framework in Ethiopia remains a hurdle
for the private sector. Private recyclers and collectors in Ethiopia listed the main
policy roadblocks as the general import tax policies on equipment and trucks,
stipulations and policies restricting bank credit, and the land lease policy of the
country (Clean Addis Recycling, 2021; D.A. Packaging PLC, 2021; EKT Trading,
2021).
Opportunities
The Ethiopian government has initiated PPPs and developed industrial zones in each region of the
country that provide affordable leases for facilities and tax exemptions for manufacturing machinery
(Ethiopian Revenue and Customs Authority, 2017). This action indicates that the Ethiopian government
is interested in improving and addressing fiscal policies that currently block the manufacturing and
processing sector, and that they may also be interested in improving and addressing such blockages in the
waste management sector. Additionally, Ethiopia’s new civil society proclamation (ECS No. 1113-2019)
outlines a fairly comprehensive change in how civil society organizations (CSOs) can operate in the
country, including expanding the type of work CSOs can undertake, making it easier for CSOs to
register, and allowing CSOs to expand their sources of funding (FDRE, 2019). This new proclamation
indicates the government’s interest in developing more open relations with NGOs and CSOs, including
HAOs.
Recommendations
An enabling environment for impact-oriented SMEs is crucial to addressing humanitarian packaging
waste. USAID/BHA and USAID can promote such an enabling environment by working with the Ethiopia
Investment Commission to address investment disincentives, the National Bank of Ethiopia to improve
access to finance policies for SMEs in the recycling sector, federal and regional land administration
agencies to improve land leases, and the Ethiopia Revenue and Customs Authority on tax reform for
recycling and circular economy business models. USAID/BHA and USAID can work with both private
companies and policy makers to create policy dialogue venues and advocacy to help private actors be
competent in the market.
Additionally, USAID can engage with the Secretariat of the ACEA. While Ethiopia is not a current
member of ACEA, the ACEA is interested in engaging in Ethiopia and when they do, USAID can convene
private sector actors with the ACEA to develop policies that can encourage circular approaches to
humanitarian packaging waste.
If USAID/BHA can work with different stakeholders on policy
advocacy, for example on tax policies, it will help us a lot.”
— NN Recycling, 2021
Next Steps
1. USAID to identify priority policy issues that limit SME capacity to engage with HAOs for packaging
waste management.
USAID.GOV CIRCULAR ECONOMY PSLA | 38
2. USAID and USAID/BHA to engage policy research institutes and universities to study alternative
policy solutions regarding access to finance for circular economy businesses, land lease policy, and
tax policy for waste management.
3. USAID and USAID/BHA to facilitate consultative policy dialogue sessions and develop policy
advocacy documents via its implementing partners.
Potential Partners
USAID/BHA can partner with a variety of policy agencies and institutions (e.g., the Ethiopian Investment
Commission, the National Bank of Ethiopia, and the Ethiopian Revenue and Customs Authority), private
and government universities (e.g., AA University, Jimma University, Bahirdar University, and St. Mary
University), private recyclers (e.g., COBA Impact, EKT PLC, DA Packaging, and NN recycling), HAOs
(e.g., USAID, UNHCR,WFP, and Mercy Corps), and NGOs (PETCO).
3.5.3 Lessons Learned From Other Geographies
Limited supportive policies and incentives for circular waste management solutions. Similar
to Ethiopia and Kenya, SMEs located in other East Africa countries mentioned the lack of policies
supporting circular models, high domestic and import taxes, and the government’s limited understanding
of circular waste management opportunities as major barriers to growing their waste and recycling
businesses. Several SMEs also mentioned that restrictive policies across the East Africa region made it
difficult to operate beyond their business’s home country, despite interest from some companies in
scaling to other countries.
At the same time, the East African Community (EAC) is developing an Electronic Waste Management
Framework and Management of Plastic and Plastic Waste Disposal, and passed the EAC’s Polythene
Materials Control Bill in 2017 with the goal of adopting common terminology, standards, obligations, and
enforcement mechanisms to hinder the proliferation of plastic waste (Cocker, 2020). The East African
Business Council (EABC) is the formal apex private sector forum to the EAC involved with private
sector support for the development and implementation of EAC plastics disposal and waste management
frameworks. USAID/BHA could work with USAID/East Africa, EABC, and SWM companies to promote
the adoption of standards and incentives that support the expansion of circular approaches and
businesses, including SMEs, in SWM in the region. This could potentially focus on and link with the
regional SWM technology and innovation initiative highlighted under Section 3.4.3.
Regional harmonization of policies and standards on the cross-border recycled waste
movement in East Africa. Several interviewed companies mentioned that the most financially viable
and efficient way to handle higher-value waste material, such as rPET, in smaller countries would be to
move across borders to regional recycling centers. However, this is not possible in much of Africa,
including East Africa, as countries restrict or put high taxes on trade of most waste—even
semi-processed recycled material. For example, Coca Cola South Africa mentioned they are looking to
create a network of PET recycling and processing hubs in Africa and that the most efficient approach
would be to move semi-processed (flaked PET) and rPET material across borders. However, the lack of
regional harmonized policies on the rPET trade could make this model and investment impossible.
Developing harmonized regional policies on the trade and movement of PET between countries in East
Africa would help ensure sufficient raw material for large investments and viable recycling value chains
USAID.GOV CIRCULAR ECONOMY PSLA | 39
and circular economy business models, including those linked to humanitarian packaging waste (WEF,
2021a). USAID/BHA could work with USAID/East Africa and other missions and bureaus to engage
Coca Cola. USAID/BHA could also collaborate with the WEF’s Regional Action Group for Africa and
the African Circular Economy Alliance, which is exploring a common regional standard for food-grade
rPET that would help reduce non-tariff barriers to trade in recycled plastic bottles and other circular
plastics (WEF, 2021b).
3.6 Build Capacity of Informal Sector with Development Partners
3.6.1 Kenya
Employment of informal workers in the private sector makes up approximately 13
percent of total waste management labor (UNECA, 2020). The waste management
sector is plagued by challenges that limit the private sector’s ability to engage
informal workers. For one, informal workers tend to be unorganized which means
it is difficult for private enterprises to facilitate trading, the supply chain, and
technical assistance or capacity building with such groups. Other challenges that
hinder the effectiveness of informal workers include informal groups that extort
money from those who wish to work at dumpsites, the fluctuation of market prices, inadequate
infrastructure, unsanitary working conditions, and a lack of occupational safeguards.
Informal waste pickers constitute the large base-of-the-pyramid workforce in humanitarian settings (and
urban settings) where they perform the most labor-intensive first steps of recyclables extraction. Despite
their relevance, they are subject to systematic marginalization. They have to cope with unbalanced
power relations, long hours of work, exploitation, volatile prices, a lack of training, and a lack of basic
equipment and tools of the trade.
Opportunities
In Kenya, informal workers are highly involved in collecting and sorting all types of waste, including
humanitarian waste. The informal SWM sector is a significant source of income for the most vulnerable
in many communities, including in camps and urban areas where humanitarian actors are supporting
sustainable waste management programs.
Recommendations
USAID/BHA can work with USAID/Kenya and other USAID operating units (Green Cities Division),
MCC, and humanitarian actors to facilitate the organization of informal workers in humanitarian sites,
thus further expanding already established circular economy approaches to managing humanitarian
packaging waste. This can include mapping and consolidating various segments of the informal
sector—women, youth, and other waste pickers—within each humanitarian site.
It is important to ensure that informal workers are consulted and included in the development and
implementation of a waste management strategy for humanitarian actors. USAID/BHA could work with
implementing partners, USAID/Kenya and MCC to facilitate training for informal workers on health and
safety, sorting, and waste collection, while receiving input from informal workers on how to improve
SWM in humanitarian sites. This training could be expanded to urban areas, thereby improving the
quality and efficiency of collection for recycling-focused SMEs.
USAID.GOV CIRCULAR ECONOMY PSLA | 40
Next Steps
1. Work with local and regional waste management offices to identify and engage informal sector
stakeholders.
2. Study gaps in informal workers’ safety, data collection, and capacity to operate.
3. Partner with NGOs like PETCO and others to provide training and tools to workers.
Potential Partners
Engage NGOs like PETCO, waste management companies, regional waste management offices, micro
associations of informal workers (e.g., the KEPSA Informal/MSME Working Group), SMEs that engage
informal collectors (e.g., KCIC Consulting Ltd.), and manufacturer associations (e.g., the Kenya
Association of Manufacturers and Jua Kali Association). Additionally, PACE and ILO are jointly designing
projects around the intersection of decent work and end-of-life circular economy initiatives. While
neither Kenya nor Ethiopia are focal countries of these projects currently, BHA and USAID can consider
PACE and ILO as potential future partners.
3.6.2 Ethiopia
Nearly a sixth (16.1 percent) of Ethiopia’s urban workforce was employed
informally in 2020 (CIPE, 2021). That figure is likely higher today. The uptick of
migration from rural to urban areas, the inaccessibility of credit and land leasing to
formally open a shop, and the onerous tax burden placed on small businesses
operating formally have all been noted by Ethiopian academics as push factors that
are driving the move towards informality (CIPE, 2021). Waste collection, sorting,
and storing services in Ethiopia are highly dominated by the informal sectors.
“Korales' ' are the firsthand informal workers who collect household recyclable or reusable items. Their
main challenges are safety, child labor, the unavailablity of sorting and storage areas, the unavailability of
technology, and weak collection and transportation systems.
Informal sectors are our back bones.Without them, we will not do
any business on waste collection and recycling.”
— COBA Impact, 2021
Opportunities
USAID can partner with the Ethiopian national government to support formalizing the informal waste
management sector, by giving Korales an opportunity to organize as a micro association. The
Government incentivizes these associations based on the weight of the cargo they have collected to
motivate formal involvement in the industry. As per the PSLA interviews, organizations like PETCO and
private recyclers (EKT and COBA Impact) support this informal sector by providing training and baling
machines, underscoring broad and growing interest in formalizing the sector.
Recommendations
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The SMEs we interviewed highly recommend that USAID/BHA and USAID/Ethiopia support informal
workers in order to improve the quality and efficiency of collection by recycling-focused SMEs.
USAID/BHA can work with USAID/Kenya, USAID’s Green Cities division, MCC, and other development
partners to provide safety and technical training (e.g., on supply safety cloths, how to sort dangerous and
non dangerous waste, and how to lift heavy materials), awareness campaigns about the importance of
waste management (e.g., via social media and billboards), provision of SWM equipment (e.g., baling
machines and trucks), and technical training on how to operate the machines to informal workers in
humanitarian sites. Supporting the government on incentivizing workers to bring them into the formal
waste collection system will play a wide role in creating sustainable waste collection and supply for
recycling-focused SMEs.
Supporting the associations with baling machines, providing awareness,
and capacity-building trainings may help the industry.”
— COBA Impact, 2021
Next Steps
1. Collaborate with USAID, MCC, implementing partners, and NGOs to provide technical assistance
and training for informal workers.
2. Assist SMEs in supporting the informal sector by facilitating the procurement and provision of SWM
equipment,such as baling machines and trucks.
3. Coordinate with municipal solid waste management offices to incentivize formal value chain players
to attract informal workers to formal channels.
4. Involve implementing partners or NGOs in the creation of media awareness campaigns about proper
waste management.
5. Collaborate with technical schools to develop training on machinery and truck operation.
Potential Partners
USAID/BHA and USAID can partner with private recyclers (e.g., EKT, COBA Impact, NN Recycling, and
Cambridge Industries), NGOs (PETCO), municipal solid waste management offices, federal and regional
technical universities, and FM radio stations (not interviewed, but potential partners include Sheger FM,
FANA FM, Ethiopian Broadcasting Corporation, and Oromia Broadcasting Network). Additionally, PACE
and ILO are jointly designing projects around the intersection of decent work and end-of-life circular
economy initiatives. While neither Kenya nor Ethiopia are focal countries of these projects currently,
USAID/BHA and USAID can consider PACE and ILO as potential future partners.
3.6.3 Lessons Learned from Other Geographies
Create more transparency in the waste-picking value chain. Yo Waste highlighted a successful
model they are deploying in Uganda to improve engagement with the informal sector by focusing on
working directly with waste pickers to create transparency and ensure a higher fee is paid to the pickers.
In South Africa, Coca Cola is collecting data in real-time about the types of materials collected in
buy-back centers in partnership with Banqu and ultimately working to formalize these workers
(Coca-Cola South Africa, 2021). They plan to transition this initiative to PETCO South Africa to scale
and sustain the program in collaboration with other industry players, and are interested in expanding the
model to other countries in Africa. Coca Cola is looking for additional partners to scale this
transparency initiative, and USAID/BHA could explore working with USAID to engage Coca Cola, other
USAID.GOV CIRCULAR ECONOMY PSLA | 42
companies like Yo Waste, and PETCOs to build transparency around the role of informal waste pickers
in Kenya and Ethiopia.
Capacity-building and awareness-raising on sound waste management practices. Like Kenya
and Ethiopia, many private sector actors interviewed mentioned a general lack of awareness and
knowledge in communities and local governments in other East African countries about recycling and
waste sorting and separation. Many of the waste management SMEs mentioned a need for better
awareness campaigns and training programs to improve knowledge, motivation, and skills in local
communities and with informal pickers about best practices on waste sorting and management.
Civil society and NGOs play a key role in empowering communities to engage in sound waste
management practices (UNEP, 2018). Governments and donors can also work with the private sector to
co-develop and implement awareness and capacity-building programs on best practices in waste
separation and collection. Regionally, UNEP is supporting awareness building about waste generation and
management, and launched initiatives to introduce graduate courses in waste management in a number
of African universities to equip students to tackle waste issues in an integrated manner. USAID/BHA can
engage with UNEP, the ACEA, large brands like Coca Cola, and SWM companies to link these awareness
and capacity-building programs to SWM partnership opportunities in humanitarian operations in Kenya,
Ethiopia, and other countries in Africa.
3.7 Prioritization of Opportunities
The partnership and PSE opportunities outlined in this report vary in potential impact, private sector
interest, risks, timeline, and transaction costs. In this context, the PSLA team has developed and
conducted an initial prioritization of the six top PSE opportunities, based on the following criteria: (1)
impact, (2) sustainability, (3) level of effort, (4) private sector will, and (5) timeline for implementation.
This prioritization is meant to provide USAID/BHA with a foundation to determine whether, when, and
in what sequence to pursue the opportunities (See Table 3.1 below for the Prioritization Rubric).
Table 3.1 Prioritization Rubric
Criteria Description Scoring Guide
Impact Level of impact the opportunity could have on expanding circular
models to manage and reuse humanitarian packaging waste, and
the extent to which it represents an innovative market-based
model that can be replicated and scaled by USAID/BHA and the
broader humanitarian community.
Limited
Moderate
Significant
Very Significant
Sustainability Extent to which the opportunity contributes to building local
capacity to manage humanitarian waste, and the likelihood that the
engagement and impact will last beyond USAID/BHA’s
involvement.
Limited
Moderate
Significant
Very Significant
USAID.GOV CIRCULAR ECONOMY PSLA | 43
Private Sector
Alignment
Extent to which the opportunity aligns with private sector core
business models, creates new sources of revenue or market entry
points, and/or solves key challenges or remove obstacles, costs, or
business risks. Extent to which the private sector is poised to
provide the commitment, contributions, and capacity to ensure
the success of the engagement.
Limited
Moderate
Significant
Very Significant
Level of Effort The level of effort USID/BHA, HAO partners, and other USAID
mission and bureau staff would need to devote for the
opportunity or engagement to succeed.
Limited
Moderate
Significant
Very Significant
Timeframe Suggested timeline for implementing the opportunity. Note some
steps in an opportunity may be started earlier, but the timeline is
based on when the majority of the steps/activities will occur.
Short-term: < 1 year
Medium-term: 1-3 years
Long-term: >3 years
The scoring guide, as visualized in the scorecard below, is color-coded along a gradient that represents
more positive traits as darker blue and more negative traits as lighter and white colors. All of the criteria
represent Very Significant as dark blue and Limited as white except for the level of effort criteria, as Very
Significant is considered a more negative trait and Limited level of effort is considered a more positive
trait.This color scheme is summarized in Table 3.2
Table 3.2 Scoring Guide Legend
Impact, Sustainability, Private Sector
Alignment, and Overall Criteria Color Guide
Level of Effort Color Guide
Very Significant Limited
Significant Moderate
Moderate Significant
Limited Very Significant
USAID.GOV CIRCULAR ECONOMY PSLA | 44
Table 3.3 The Opportunity Prioritization Scorecard below presents the PSLA team’s analysis of the six opportunities, based on the four criteria
(Impact, Sustainability, Private Sector Alignment, and Level of Effort) in descending order of priority.
Table 3.3 Opportunity Prioritization Scorecard
Opportunity Impact Sustainability Private Sector
Alignment
Level of Effort Overall
Partner with Private
Value Chain Actors
Very Significant
Value chain partnerships
can provide significant
impact in collecting,
transporting, and
recycling materials.
Very Significant
Shared value partnerships
that generate profit for
value chain actors have a
strong likelihood of
sustaining.
Very Significant
Strong alignment with
private interests
depending on the goals
and value chain position
of specific actors.
Significant
Developing and
brokering value chain
partnerships will take
effort to cultivate,
negotiate, and identify
areas of shared value.
Very Significant
Very significant impact
potential and potential
for sustaining by private
sector actors and
HOAs, with high
upfront effort to
develop partnerships.
Build Capacity of
Informal Sector with
Development
Partners
Moderate
Informal sectors are not
well-networked in rural
areas of both Kenya or
Ethiopia and thus impact
will be difficult to scale.
Moderate
The current lack of
organizational or
institutional planning of
informal workers means
there is a risk of capacity
gains not being realized.
Very Significant
Informal sectors are the
backbone of many
private waste
management value
chains and thus
improvements in this
area can ripple across
said value chains.
Moderate
In Kenya, this approach
will likely be carried out
by NGOs and private
offtakers, while in
Ethiopia this approach
will largely be carried
out with government
offices and the private
sector. In both cases,
the level of effort is
anticipated to be
moderate.
Significant
Informal workers are a
critical part of the
waste value chain;
supporting them is of
high interest to the
private sector, but lack
of organization of
workers means impact
and sustainability will be
a challenge.
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Facilitate Circular
Economy Policy
Advocacy
Significant
Policies are a major
impediment to the
circular economy and
market-based
approaches to waste
management, and
emerging government
programs in Kenya and
Ethiopia express a
commitment to circular
approaches,so there is
potential for significant
impact.
Moderate
The sustainability of policy
change rests on successful
implementation, which is
often limited and may be
inconsistent over the
long-term.
Significant
Improved policies and
tax reductions were key
issues raised by the
private sector as limiting
their ability to scale and
invest in their
businesses.
Moderate
Requires facilitation and
coordination support in
aggregating private
companies in policy
dialogue.
Significant
A supportive policy
environment aligns with
private sector interests
and can address major
challenges to
market-based solutions
to SWM in both
countries, including for
humanitarian waste
management, but
implementation of
policy reforms may
hinder impact
sustainability.
Catalyze Finance for
Waste Management
Infrastructure
Very Significant
Most recycling and
SWM companies and
projects activities are
limited by a lack of
finance; expanded
financial mechanisms
can spur growth and
sustainable business
models in both Ethiopia
and Kenya and .
Significant
Injecting new finance can
create sustainable
outcomes in SWM and
establish sustainable
business models., But
sustaining results depends
on private sector
organizations’ capacity to
absorb capital and scale
market-based solutions,
and the capacity of most
SMEs in SWM in both
countries is limited.
Significant
Private sector actors
are very interested in
finance, but their
capacity to manage such
finances will determine
how well they can
commit to and sustain
such opportunities.
Very Significant
Implementing this
opportunity will require
continuous and
intensive discussions
with finance providers
and other actors to
implement.
Significant
Significant impact
potential and alignment
with the private sector,
but it will take very
significant effort and
work with multiple
actors to design and
scale new financial
mechanisms in both
Kenya and Ethiopia.
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Institute Internal
Waste Management
Procedures
Moderate
The immediate impact is
limited, but it is crucial
for creating long-term
impact.
Very Significant
These procedures can
build the capacity of
humanitarian organizations
to manage waste
post-USAID/BHA
activities.
Limited
The private sector relies
on such procedures to
engage with
humanitarian
organizations, but such
procedures are not core
to their business
models.
Moderate
Compared to the other
opportunities, this
requires less effort to
coordinate and
organize.
Moderate
Limited private sector
alignment, but an
important foundation
for engaging the private
sector in other
opportunities,strong
sustainability, and
moderate effort
required.
Address Logistics and
Transportation
Barriers from
Humanitarian Sites
Significant
Kenya and Ethiopia both
have rudimentary
logistics systems and
processes, and
improvements in
transportation and
logistics can address a
major issue in SWM for
humanitarian waste in
rural areas and
dispersed locations.
Moderate
Addressing transportation
barriers in Kenya and
Ethiopia can increase
long-term private
investment and interest in
the sector, but the
number of factors and
stakeholders to be
engaged is high.
Significant (Kenya)
The private sector is
already involved and
interested in waste
logistics through the
Kenya Private Sector
Alliance and the Kenya
Association of
Manufacturers.
Very Significant
There are a large
number of stakeholders
involved in logistic and
transportation chains in
Kenya and Ethiopia,
requiring time and
effort to synchronize.
Moderate (Kenya)
Strong alignment with
the private sector, and
significant potential for
impact, but involves a
major time commitment
to work with the
number of private
sector actors in the
sector.
Moderate (Ethiopia)
Logistical barriers are so
high that the private
sector would need to
see significant and
reliable increase in
revenue.
Moderate (Ethiopia)
Significant potential for
impact, but challenges
with private sector
interests and a major
time commitment.
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The Timeline of Opportunities below (Table 3.4) categorizes the opportunities based on short, medium, and long-term timelines for
implementation to assist USAID/BHA and USAID in sequencing the PSE opportunities. USAID/BHA and USAID can undertake initial steps in
medium and long-term opportunities earlier, but the PSLA recommends focusing the bulk of effort on opportunities in sequence (short, medium,
and long) as many build the foundation for later/longer-term opportunities. For example, Ethiopia's financial sector regulatory environment will
need to be improved to build the capacity of domestic banks and allow for foreign capital to enter in support of the circular economy and SWM,
which is why we recommend facilitating circular economy policy advocacy in the medium term, and catalyzing finance in the long-term.
Table 3.4Timeline of Opportunities
Opportunity Timeline
Institute InternalWaste Management Procedures Short-term: Immediate priority that can be started in less than a year and is an important
foundation for other private sector opportunities and addressing humanitarian packaging
waste management.
Partner with PrivateValue Chain Actors Short-term: USAID/BHA can start immediate outreach to private sector organizations to
build relationships, beginning with the companies highlighted in the opportunity. Developing
and brokering private sector partnerships will take some time, but this opportunity has
significant potential for impact and alignment with private interests.
Address Logistics and Transportation Barriers from
Humanitarian Sites (Kenya)
Short-term: Opportunity to start engaging with existing HAO partners and active
humanitarian sites, and capitalize on the existing humanitarian logistics capabilities. New
policy in place in Kenya requiring specific types of vehicles for waste collection and
transportation necessitates immediate action in three to nine months.
Address Logistics and Transportation Barriers from
Humanitarian Sites (Ethiopia)
Short-term: Opportunity to start engaging with existing HAO partners for storage
development at active humanitarian assistance sites, coordinating with transport
companies, and finding regional humanitarian assistance depots. In the long-term, focus on
engaging with regional dry waste management offices for building new depots.
Facilitate Circular Economy Policy Advocacy (Ethiopia and
Kenya)
Medium-term: Requires additional research to identify the specific policy bottlenecks and
recommended actions to facilitate circular economy solutions in waste management.Also,
USAID/BHA will need to work with USAID, HAOs, and other development partners to
engage key private sector actors in SWM to increase channels for communication and
input into policies,standards, and end-of- life solutions (i.e.,suppliers and recyclers).
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Build Capacity of Informal Sector with Development Partners
(Kenya and Ethiopia)
Medium-term: Requires outreach to developmental organizations, government bodies,
NGOs, and the private sector to identify how to best engage and organize the informal
sector.
Catalyze Finance forWaste Management Infrastructure
(Ethiopia)
Long-term: High demand for financing exists in Ethiopia for SWM, especially for SMEs,
and it's a critical component of growing the infrastructure for waste management.
USAID/BHA will need to work through USAID, DFC, and other development partners to
implement this opportunity, and the domestic financial sector regulatory environment will
need to be improved to build the capacity of domestic banks and allow for foreign capital
to enter in support of the circular economy and SWM.
Catalyze Finance forWaste Management Infrastructure (Kenya) Long-term: Bringing in finance to support infrastructure and businesses will be critical to
scale SWM solutions, however, this opportunity will require engaging and working through
USAID, DFC, and other development partners to execute—and that will take time. Local
financial institutions in Kenya will require outreach, awareness, and support to engage in
the SWM sector.Also, though circular economy policy is a priority for the Kenyan
Government via the Big Four Agenda, funds will only be mobilized in three to seven years.
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3.8 Case Study of Opportunity in Action
The opportunities presented are meant to both guide the strategic direction of USAID/BHA and their
implementing partners and provide a tangible roadmap for USAID/BHA and implementing partner
activities. Below is a hypothetical example that exemplifies how these opportunities can be implemented,
using Ethiopia as a country for context. This example is intended to serve as a reference for
USAID/BHA and implementers as they contemplate how to implement the PSLA recommendations.
Ethiopia Hypothetical Example: Pilot Circular Economy Approaches in and with Refugee
Camps
In this example, USAID/BHA and implementing partners can pilot circular economy approaches and
opportunities in refugee camps in the Gambela region of Ethiopia. Within Gambela, USAID/BHA could
specifically pilot projects in the Jewi and Nguenyyiel refugee camps. Gambela is a secure area to pilot
circular economy approaches, as it is relatively safe compared with conflict-affected areas in Northern
Ethiopia and Tigray. The Jewi and Nguenyyiel refugee camps both have more than half a million refugees
from internally displaced people and also refugees from South Sudan. Furthermore, in 2018 Norwegian
Church Aid facilitated a project whereby waste was collected from camps and sold to private recyclers.
Implementing in this area and in these camps would build on previous work by Norwegian Church Aid
by including efforts to institutionalize sorting, transporting, storage and waste management, and private
sector linkages throughout the end-of-life supply chain (Norwegian Church Aid, 2019).
A project in Gambela would involve focusing efforts on managing plastic, cardboard, and metal packaging
waste from the Jewi and Nguenyyiel refugee camps. This effort would involve working with and
strengthening community social business enterprises and informal waste collectors, developing a waste
storage depot, overcoming transportation and logistic barriers, and institutionalizing long-term
relationships with private sector partners.
Through such a project, USAID/BHA and implementing partners would implement the PSLA’s
recommendations and opportunities as outlined below. Note that these are listed in the order in which
we would suggest implementing them.
1. Institute Waste Management Protocols and Procedures with Humanitarian Assistance
Organizations
USAID/BHA would first work with the humanitarian organizations present in the Jewi and
Nguenyyiel refugee camps, such as Norwegian Church Aid and UNHCR, to create a unified
framework for collecting, sorting, and storing waste in the camps. From this shared framework, each
organization would make its own waste management plan, but they would each be created with
common goals, objectives, and contextual understanding. These waste management plans, and the
overarching framework, would establish a shared vision for how the HAOs would engage with
informal waste collectors, the refugee community, how waste will be monitored, how waste will be
sorted and stored, and how responsibilities will be distributed. Additionally, these plans would
incorporate a scoping section for which private sector recyclers can be engaged in the recycling
value chain. Developing a unified waste management framework is the first essential step upon which
all other activities can be built.
Once the internal waste management procedures are in place, USAID/BHA and implementing
partners can begin implementing two opportunities in parallel: Build Capacity of Informal Sector
USAID.GOV CIRCULAR ECONOMY PSLA | 50
(described in step two) and Address Logistics and Transportation Barriers from Humanitarian Sites
(described in step three). The informal sector will likely play a critical role in the success of any
collection efforts, and transportation and logistics issues will need to be addressed to institute
long-term private sector partnerships.
2. Build Capacity of Informal Sector within Jewi and Nguenyyiel Refugee Camps
Building on the waste management plans developed in the previous step, USAID/BHA could develop
partnerships with HAOs and the USAID/Ethiopia mission to deliver training, an awareness campaign
and communication materials, and business development to waste collectors. The training would
include creating awareness around recycling and waste management procedures and proper safety
protocols for effective waste management. Additionally, USAID/BHA could collaborate with
implementing partners, USAID/Ethiopia, and MIT Lincoln Labs to introduce small-scale machinery
and equipment, such as compactors and balers, for informal collectors to use. The Gambela Regional
Youth and Women Association would also be a priority partner for developing strategies and
activities for engaging youth and women in informal waste collection enterprises. The youth and
women association will have members or connections with those who are informal waste collectors
and can be leveraged to organize such collectors.
3. Address Logistic and Transportation Barriers from the Jewi and Nguenyyiel Refugee
Camps
Concurrently with building the capacity of the informal sector, USAID/BHA and implementing
partners would also work with transportation, logistics, and private recycling companies to identify
and address the barriers they face in collecting waste from the Jewi and Nguenyyiel refugee camps.
A challenge that came up during interviews was the need for an aggregation location for waste from
humanitarian sites. One way that USAID/BHA and implementing partners could overcome this
barrier would be by allocating space for aggregating and storing packaging waste in one or some of
the distribution sites, warehouses, and depots used to transport, aggregate, and move humanitarian
assistance across Ethiopia. USAID/BHA and implementing partners would need to assess how much
space they would need, how much space is available, and what capacities and resources would be
needed to maintain such a storage space and facility.
If depot spaces run by humanitarian organizations are not available, USAID/BHA, implementing
partners, and USAID/Ethiopia could work with municipal waste management offices and, potentially,
private companies to process the material, identify and select an ideal location for waste storage,
develop a depot for storing waste, and facilitate a management plan for that depot. Based on the
interviews conducted, the ideal location would likely be one near Addis Ababa along a main highway
in and out of the city. USAID/BHA and implementing partners could begin this process by first
investigating the feasibility of developing infrastructure in Ambo, as the town fits the aforementioned
criteria. USAID/BHA and implementing partners could hold consultations with the Oromia Region
dry waste management office, the Ambo town dry waste management office, and the Oromia land
and environmental protection bureau. USAID/BHA and implementing partners would also need to
closely work with private recyclers to ensure the location, governance, and management of the
depots enables them to source and collect from these sites. Relevant recycling companies that
USAID/BHA and partners could work with include Coba Impact Manufacturing PLC, EKT PLC,
Penda Manufacturing PLC, NN Recycling, and DK PLC.
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For either of these options—a depot hosted in humanitarian facilities or a depot hosted in public
facilities—USAID/BHA and implementing partners would need to coordinate the reverse logistics of
transporting waste to these sites. This could include USAID/BHA facilitating contracts between
implementing partners and transporters to include waste packaging return to the depots after
subsequent assistance deliveries.
4. Partner with PrivateValue Chain Actors
In this case study, USAID/BHA and implementing partners would discuss and scope opportunities
with the private sector throughout the previous steps. These scoping discussions would need to
include gauging how to incorporate the private sector into waste management plans and what
infrastructure and logistics they need to overcome transportation barriers.
Once depots are established and transportation and logistics barriers have been mitigated,
USAID/BHA and implementing partners would formalize partnerships with recycling companies to
collect and process recycling material. For these partnerships to be sustainable, they will need to
plan for a long-term supply of waste, sharing of collection and waste volume data, frequency of
collections, and quantity and type of waste needed to maintain profitable supply chains. While
partnerships would be formalized after the previous steps, these discussions and scoping need to
occur throughout the previous steps to inform the implementation of the other opportunities.
USAID.GOV CIRCULAR ECONOMY PSLA | 52
4. CONCLUSION
This PSLA notes a number of opportunities and recommendations for USAID/BHA, USAID, and
humanitarian organizations to pursue to strengthen the circular economy of humanitarian packaging
waste.These opportunities, their timeline to start, and overall prioritization are summarized below.
Short-term Opportunities
Opportunity Recommendation Overall Prioritization
Partner with PrivateValue
Chain Actors
USAID/BHA and implementing partners can
partner with value chain actors to channel waste
from humanitarian sites into circular economy
value chains.
Very Significant
Address Logistics and
Transportation Barriers from
Humanitarian Sites
USAID/BHA can work with implementing
partners to investigate options for aggregating
waste, utilizing reverse logistics, and introducing
technologies that create logistics efficiencies.
Moderate (Kenya)
Moderate (Ethiopia)
Institute InternalWaste
Management Procedures
USAID/BHA and implementing partners can
create a waste management plan framework to
sort and track the waste created on site in both
camps and dispersed sites, to facilitate better
private sector engagement.
Moderate
Medium-term Opportunities
Opportunity Recommendation Overall Prioritization
Facilitate Circular Economy
Policy Advocacy
USAID and USAID/BHA can increase private
sector participation, collaboration, and input into
policies,standards, procurement, and end-of-life
solutions.
Significant
Build Capacity of Informal
Sector with Development
Partners
USAID/BHA, through its implementing partners,
can provide safety and technical training,raise
awareness, and facilitate organizing informal
workers to better engage with the private sector.
Significant
Long-term Opportunities
Opportunity Recommendation Overall Prioritization
Catalyze Finance forWaste
Management Infrastructure
USAID/BHA can work with USAID to establish
and facilitate finance mechanisms for
infrastructure, logistics, and equipment
improvements.
Significant
USAID.GOV CIRCULAR ECONOMY PSLA | 53
Further Research and Study Limitations
While this PSLA identified a number of opportunities for USAID/BHA and USAID to engage with
end-of-life circular economy models, the assessment revealed a number of considerations and
opportunities for further research and study. For one, desk research and interviews with humanitarian
organizations indicated the critical role that donor procurement policies play in shifting packaging waste
outcomes. By reducing the amount of packaging required and making those materials more recyclable,
USAID/BHA, USAID, and their suppliers can drastically increase the potential for circular flow of their
packaging waste.
This assessment did not interview suppliers or producers of packaging material, but rather focused on
end-of-life companies. As such, the findings do not include opportunities related to engaging producers
and suppliers. However, to create a more circular economy around humanitarian packaging material,
USAID/BHA and USAID will need to understand the interests, challenges, and potential of material
producers.
The PSLA included some findings and recommendations that are specific to waste management for
refugee camps. It is important to note that as not all HAOs work in camp settings, these
recommendations will only be relevant in specific contexts and may not be applicable to all HAO
priorities or ways of working.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and inability to travel, the PSLA team had to conduct its interviews
entirely remotely. This involved using online platforms such as Zoom and WhatsApp to schedule and
hold interviews with stakeholders remotely. Connectivity problems resulted in a few instances of
interviews with stakeholders being canceled or rescheduled. It is also important to note that the PSLA
team recorded the perceptions of the targeted sector representatives and this report represents the
aggregated opinions of the interviewees. Their insights and suggestions informed the PSE
recommendations, but do not represent a complete analysis of the private sector for waste management
in Kenya and Ethiopia.
USAID.GOV CIRCULAR ECONOMY PSLA | 54
5. ANNEXES
Annex 5.1: References
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USAID.GOV CIRCULAR ECONOMY PSLA | 56
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-RNd1FZ-Rps6gQ-RNd3Ak-RKxtxW-RKxBA9-RVuqWd-RVup7G-RpsgoJ-RVunhQ-RVucLq-DKcFcN-R
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10, 2021.
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-RNd1FZ-Rps6gQ-RNd3Ak-RKxtxW-RKxBA9-RVuqWd-RVup7G-RpsgoJ-RVunhQ-RVucLq-DKcFcN-R
pseZG-Rpsiof-RpskAS-RZ6kFp-QK9hfk-2iTVVvM-2iTVVwi-DDfZFB-CQ1Eud.
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USAID.GOV CIRCULAR ECONOMY PSLA | 60
Annex 5.2: PACE Overview
History
The Platform for Accelerating the Circular Economy (PACE) was created in 2018 by the World
Economic Forum to drive public-private action and accelerate circular economy solutions. Since 2019, it
has been hosted by the World Resources Institute and facilitated by a full-time team in the Hague,
Netherlands.
Network Function and Partners
PACE is the global network of circularity leaders committed to championing the circular economy at the
highest levels of global leadership, using their own position and network to drive change at scale.
Currently PACE has a Leadership Group of nearly 100 Chief Executive Officers, Ministers, and heads of
civil society and multilateral organizations. With PACE, major regional circular economy coalitions have
been launched in Africa and Latin America, with others forthcoming in 2021-22. To date, PACE works
with the teams of PACE Board Member organizations, funders, Knowledge Partners, and Leadership
Group organizations, to increase their levels of action and alignment with the Circular Economy Action
Agenda.
Operational Model
PACE operates through three key pillars: leadership, knowledge, and projects. 1) PACE was created to
connect leaders who are committed to creating a circular economy. It catalyzes leaders who have a clear
vision and the power to make things happen. 2) The transition to the circular economy must be
supported by evidence and science. Therefore, PACE works with leading thinkers, researchers, and
practitioners to transform the PACE community’s knowledge into an evidence-based collective action
agenda, and identify areas where action needs to be initiated or scaled up. 3) PACE works on projects
that are pioneering or scaling the circular economy by connecting the public and private sectors.
Projects led by the PACE community can be affiliated, and the secretariat brings leaders together to
create new initiatives.
Funding
PACE is enabled through a diverse group of supporters who share our commitment by supporting PACE
partners and our centralized activities through the PACE Secretariat. The PACE 2020 Annual Report
provides a list of the 19 companies, governments, and foundations supporting the PACE Secretariat. In
2020, about 60 percent of the PACE Secretariat’s core funding was provided by governments, 30
percent by companies, and ten percent by foundations. The Secretariat also receives in-kind
contributions from PACE partners.
Achievements
USAID.GOV CIRCULAR ECONOMY PSLA | 61
PACE has doubled the size of the leadership group in the past two years. This growth has witnessed an
increased number of public, UN, and civil society actors. In early 2021, PACE launched the Circular
Economy Action Agenda, which was developed with 200+ experts from over 100 organizations, for five
focus areas (food, plastics, electronics, textiles, and capital equipment). PACE is aligning the leadership
organizations behind the Circular Economy Action Agenda, which now serves as the basis for impactful
collaboration. PACE oversees 21 Affiliated Actions and one Core Action to closely develop the Action
Agenda moving forward. Additionally, there are over 65 Actions involving PACE leaders that represent
specific next steps in the calls-to-action. As a global convener, PACE has a strong presence in high-level
global events. PACE has become a trusted partner of the World Circular Economy Forum—the largest
global convening in the circular economy, designing and delivering sessions with a rising, united global
voice.
Organizational Structure
PACE’s Board of Directors is composed of a diverse and distinguished group of corporate, government,
and civil society leaders. The Board helps shape the strategy, objectives, and priorities related to
acceleration and scale-up of the transition to a circular economy, including, but not limited to, acting as
ambassadors of PACE and engaging the Leadership Group throughout the year. The Executive
Committee of the Board supports the Secretariat on tactical and strategic issues and in preparing
meetings and decisions for the Board. The Secretariat currently consists of seven direct staff: Global
Director, Leadership Lead, Knowledge Lead, Project Lead, Communications Lead, Programme
Coordinator, and a Special Projects Lead. Beyond supporting PACE’s governance, the Secretariat
facilitates the work of its community: Leadership Group, Knowledge Partners, and donors. Although
these three groups are not part of the governance body of PACE, they do form the network through
which PACE carries out its theory of change.
Relation toWRI
PACE has been hosted by WRI as a delivery platform since 2019, and there is no plan to change the
construction in the foreseeable future. This relationship is complementary, enhancing both sides. PACE
brings circular economy expertise and global leadership in the circular economy to WRI agendas, such as
those on Food, Loss, and Waste; WRI brings world-class data, analysis, and decision-relevant tools, as
well as an extensive set of knowledge and delivery partners, to the PACE community and strategy, which
is shaping new policy and economic analysis initiatives that will help advance the circular economy agenda
and embed circularity in countries’ Nationally Determined Contributions.
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Annex 5.3: Stakeholder Interviews
Non-Private Sector Interviews
Organization Name Type of Organization
Africa Circular Economy Network NGO Thought Leader
CARE Denmark USAID/BHA Implementing Partner
Chatham House NGO Thought Leader
Global Camp Coordination and Management Cluster Multi-Stakeholder Alliance
Global Livingston Institute Multi-Stakeholder Alliance
Global Shelter Cluster Multi-Stakeholder Alliance
International Committee of the Red Cross USAID/BHA Implementing Partner
International Organization for Migration USAID/BHA Implementing Partner
MIT Lincoln Labs USAID/BHA Research Partner
United Nations Environmental Program USAID/BHA Implementing Partner
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees USAID/BHA Implementing Partner
USAID/BHA Markets Team USAID Bureau
USAID/BHA Supply Chain Management Division USAID Bureau
USAID Development, Democracy and Innovation USAID Bureau
World Food Program USAID/BHA Implementing Partner
Private Sector Interviews
Company Name Type of
Company
Country Types ofWaste(s) Collected
Agroplast Ltd SME Rwanda Plastics/PET
Alternative Energy Systems SME Kenya Plastics/PET
Aquila Recycling Plant SME Uganda Plastics/PET
AsanteWaste Management SME Uganda
OrganicWaste, E-waste, Cardboard,
Paper, Plastics/PET
Bamato Environmental &
Sanitation Project Association/Other Kenya Paper, Plastics/PET
Big Ship Group Association/Other Kenya Glass, Cardboard, Paper, Plastics/PET
Bin It Services Ltd SME Uganda
OrganicWaste, E-waste, Glass,
Plastics/PET
Cambridge Industries SME Ethiopia
E-waste, Metal/Steel/Aluminum,
Plastics/PET
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Clean Addis Recycling SME Ethiopia Cardboard, Paper, Plastics/PET
Coba Impact PLC SME Ethiopia Glass, Plastics/PET
Coca Cola Large Business South Africa
Glass, Metal/Steel/Aluminum,
Plastics/PET
Coped Group SME Rwanda OrganicWaste
D.A. Packaging PLC SME Ethiopia
Metal/Steel/Aluminum, Cardboard,
Paper, Plastics/PET,
DK PLC and TsiduWaste
Recycling SME Ethiopia Cardboard, Paper,
Dynamic Sanitary Service SME Ethiopia
Glass, Metal/Steel/Aluminum,
Cardboard, Paper, Plastics/PET,
EKT Trade and Investment
PLC Large Business Ethiopia Plastics/PET,
Enviroserve Rwanda Green
Park SME Rwanda E-waste, Cardboard, Plastics/PET,
Enviroserve Kenya Limited SME Kenya E-waste, Glass, Plastics/PET,
Genet Hawaz SME Ethiopia Plastics/PET,
Gjenge Makers SME Kenya Plastics/PET,
Go GREEN SME Kenya Metal/Steel/Aluminum, Plastics/PET,
Impact Madagascar Association/Other Madagascar OrganicWaste, Paper, Plastics/PET,
Mr. Green Africa SME Kenya Plastics/PET,
NN Recycling SME Ethiopia Plastics/PET,
PETCO Ethiopia Association/Other Ethiopia
N/A “Petco doesn't buy any waste,
nor own any part of the value chain.
Does not operate its own collection
systems, does not operate any part
of the value chain.”
Plawaste Group SME Uganda Plastics/PET
Premier Industries SME Kenya Plastics/PET
Recyclan Large Business Nigeria Plastics/PET
Recycle at OZTI SME Tanzania Plastics/PET
RocBo Multipurpose Society Association/Other Kenya Paper, Plastics/PET
SeradelisWaste Management
Limited SME Kenya
Metal/Steel/Aluminum, Paper,
Plastics/PET,Wood
Sino Alu Fiber SME Ethiopia Plastics/PET
Société de Production
d’Articles Hygiéniques
(S.P.A.H.) SME Madagascar OrganicWaste, Paper, Plastics/PET
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Technology and Innovation
Institute Association/Other Ethiopia N/A “commercial waste”
The Recycler SME Tanzania
OrganicWaste, E-waste, Glass,
Metal/Steel/Aluminum, Cardboard,
Paper, Plastics/PET,
Vohitra SME Madagascar
OrganicWaste, E-waste, Paper,
Plastics/PET,
WEEE Centre SME Kenya E-waste
YoWaste SME Uganda Plastics/PET
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Annex 5.4: Qualitative CodingTree
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