Afri-Plastics Challenge: Nesta’s Challenge Works program awards US$5M to scale-up waste management

23 Mar 2023 --- Nesta’s social enterprise Challenge Works has delivered the Afri-Plastics Challenge awarding a total of £4.1 million (US$5 million) funded by the Canadian government to scale innovations aimed at tackling plastic waste and minimizing ocean-bound plastic. 

The challenge was divided into three strands, with three winners each – including innovations in recycling facilities, biodegradable and compostable material development and awareness campaigns. 

“Across three challenge strands, the Afri-Plastics Challenge sought out human-centered solutions that could improve recycling rates of waste plastic, reduce volumes of plastic entering the value chain and influence behavior change through creative campaigns,” Jonty Slater, director of international development at Challenge Works tells PackagingInsights.

Slater explains that over a thousand entries were received across the three strands, of which semi-finalists were selected and then whittled down to finalists. In each phase, innovators received grants and seed funding to develop their ideas, as well as non-financial expert support to help businesses develop. 

Additionally, across the life of the challenge, more than £8.5 million (US$10 million) has been distributed to innovators to grow their businesses. Innovators focussed on recycling solutions reported a 113% increase in monthly collecting and processing during the prize, according to Challenge Works.

The prize money will support the winning innovators to continue scaling their businesses – for example Green Industry Plast – Togo (GIP-Togo) intends to expand its activities beyond the Togolese capital Lomé into other parts of the country.

The judging panel included experts from The Green Institute in Nigeria, Anglophone Countries for UNESCO Emerging Technologies and a Zambian social entrepreneur and founder of the Ulubuto recycling initiative and social enterprise learning & development co-ordinator at BongoHive.

Sub-Saharan Africa generates over 17 million metric tons of waste.Sub-Saharan plastic problem
Afri-Plastics Challenge details that over 17 million metric tons of waste are generated by Sub-Saharan Africa annually and only 12% of plastic waste is recycled, while most of the rest is buried or dumped.

“Ultimately this plastic gets washed into rivers and lakes and makes its way to the sea where it wrecks the ocean ecosystem and threatens the wellbeing of coastal economies and communities that rely on healthy seas,” shares Slater. 

“The big challenges are a lack of infrastructure, an over-reliance on single use plastics, and a need to increase public awareness about their influence on the plastics value chain.” 

“The volume of plastic waste being generated is only set to increase as Africa continues on its development path, however there are entrepreneurs and innovators fighting the rising tide of pollution. The Afri-Plastics Challenge’s aim was to identify the most promising and support them to scale,” he continues.

Slater further tells us that without access to waste collection services and recycling services, many households have no alternative but to dump their rubbish – the teams competing in strand one of the Afri-Plastics Challenge are scaling their production and processing facilities to give waste plastic a new use to solve this problem.

“Single use plastics products for the home and in food packaging are cheap and hygienic – after all there wouldn’t be so much plastic waste if it wasn’t so useful. The problem is they don’t biodegrade and with limited recycling opportunities, tend not to be reused. Innovators in strand two are developing alternatives to single use plastics and petroleum-based plastics,” he details.

The final challenge, Slater says, is public consciousness and understanding of the influence individuals can have on the plastic value chain. “As the team from Ukwenza VR says, how can we expect people to care about ocean plastics if some have never seen the sea. Strand three competitors developed creative communications campaigns to influence behavior change around the use of plastics, the impact of plastic pollution and the choices that individuals can take to reduce plastic pollution.”

Accelerating growth
GIP-Togo was awarded £1 million (US$1.2 million) to expand its plastic waste management solution by setting up collection and sorting units in major cities in Togo. In collaboration with local authorities, the organization recovers plastic waste for recycling. Its conversion machinery fabricates bricks, paving slabs, whiteboards for schools and other plastic items. Women and young school dropouts are recruited and trained in sorting and reusing waste materials creating “value-added employment.”GIP-Togo shreds collected plastic to fabricate other plastic items.

“We want to equip every stakeholder in the city’s living environment – from City Hall to private citizens – with the tools to recycle to improve public health and living conditions,” says GIP-Togo.

Chanja Datti, the second winner in strand one based in Abuja, Nigeria, developed a technology-driven in-house end-to-end process for plastics waste recycling by purchasing directly from waste aggregators and pickers.

“We aim to establish a series of recycling hubs across northern Nigeria, building on our success in Abuja. The collected plastics will be processed and sold as post-consumer recycled plastics to plastics manufacturers for use by large bottle-to-bottle manufacturing companies,” the innovator shares.

Meanwhile, Mega Gas from Nairobi, Kenya, was awarded £500,000 (US$615,750) to convert unsorted waste polythene and other plastics that litter the environment into clean gaseous fuel through a thermal cracking process of distillation and compression that creates no emissions, residue or pollution to the environment. The fuel is harvested into metal cylinders for easy use and handling.

“We use a patented thermal cracking process that converts plastic waste into a gas which is harvested, compressed into cylinders and sold at affordable prices,” says Mega Gas.

Chemolex Biopactic material is made out of invasive water hyacinth plants.Creating solutions
For strand two, the challenge winners were selected based on the creation or development of new products, technologies and services to encourage the reduction or elimination of the use of plastic in sub-Saharan Africa.

Chemolex came up with a “biopactic” material that is bio-based and produced from invasive water hyacinth plants that grow aggressively in Lake Victoria in Kenya. By utilizing the invasive water hyacinth plants to produce the sustainable “biopactic” material, Chemolex can reduce the environmental, health and economic adverse impacts and the use of single-use plastic materials in diapers and product packaging.

“We currently supply more than 8,000 pieces of biodegradable bread bags and other customized packaging solutions and have also developed biodegradable diapers and sanitary pads currently available in the Kenyan market,” shares Chemolex.

EcoCoCo Homecare, based in Kilifi, Kenya, is spearheading the development of EcoCoco, a range of multi-purpose everyday home care products made from compostable natural coconut fiber. These include scouring pads, scrubbing brushes and brooms with coconut fiber bristles.

The brushes’ and brooms’ bodies and handles will be made from wood offcuts recycled from timber yards and commercial carpentry. According to the innovator, these biodegradable, plastic-free alternatives will significantly reduce the amount of plastic waste produced by each household.

Furthermore, Toto Safi’s app-based service facilitates the reduction of single-use disposable diapers, a significant source of land and marine pollution. Through its app, parents in Kigali, Rwanda, will receive a fresh bundle of clean and sterilized cloth diapers at an affordable cost.

“We are a reusable cloth diaper service. It is a viable alternative for many parents who cannot afford disposable diapers while also preventing a major source of land and marine pollution,” shares Toto Safi.

“Parents can order a package of reusable cloth diapers and accessories produced by local women tailors, access an affordable community-based, women-operated diaper laundry service and a wealth of trusted diapering and baby tips.”Ukwenza VR leverages virtual reality to showcase the journey of plastic after disposal.

Promoting change
Strand three winners created campaigns, programs, tools and other creative interventions to drive behavior change of individuals and communities around plastic waste in sub-Saharan Africa and help empower women and girls.

Catharina Natang with its “Addressing Plastics in Fashion Design” program uses a training-empowerment-promotion model and targets designers and aspiring designers, fashion schools and laundromats.

Ukwenza VR uses a virtual reality (VR) storytelling format to showcase the journey a piece of plastic takes after disposal. “We work to bridge the learning gap by providing immersive and engaging educational content that complements the current educational systems in urban areas in Kenya. VR encourages problem solving, decision-making and behavior change in both children and adults,” it says.

Meanwhile, Baus Taka Enterprise’s #StopPlasticPollution campaign leverages a mobile app to promote segregation of plastic waste from source while raising awareness of responsible waste management practices. 

“The #StopPlasticPollution campaign addresses this plastic mismanagement challenge at the source, to reduce marine plastic pollution. The Baus Taka mobile app is a platform to collect data on waste and provide monetary incentives to members of the community who sort and trade their used plastic, which is then collected by Baus Taka and transported to recycling centers.”

By Radhika Sikaria