Circular Economy buzzword has become synonymous with many African countries as nations find ways to deal with burgeoning environmental crises. Traditional models of development favoured take-make-dispose models. These models resulted in overexploitation of environmental resources. Wearing clothes once, single-use plastics and other key one-hit wonders are largely blamed for the global environmental crises which exist in different parts of the world. In Africa the transition towards a Circular Economy (CE) is facing both opportunities and challenges.
Opportunities exist in wastewater recycling, plastic recycling and waste beneficiation. Attaining a high level of sustainability requires sustainable economic development models anchored on the circular economy. Some countries which are moving towards circularity include South Africa, which is implementing industrial symbiosis. Industrial symbiosis is where waste from an organisation becomes a raw material to another organisation. This is a paradigm shift from the conventional way of doing things. Through industrial symbiosis, companies can save costs and achieve sustainable development.
In the area related to fertiliser production, waste materials can be used as raw materials in the manufacturing of wall finishing plasters. In a Circular Economy there is nothing which is considered as waste and this allows for a wide collaboration between stakeholders.
In Africa the main challenge is how to finance circular economy activities as well as how to strike a balance between environmental protection and economic development. Some communities view a circular economy as a foreign concept which needs to be domesticated. There is no agreement as to when the circular economy will commence, therefore countries are adopting it at their own pace.
The million-dollar question has also been around how to finance a circular economy. Financing a circular economy is necessary and can occur through loans, guarantees, grants and equity. The question is whether ordinary people and small to medium sized enterprises can access the financing.
Circular Economy will require Africa to abandon its ways of doing things including unsustainable practices. Some sectors of the economy believe that a circular economy could be a hindrance to the growth of Africa whilst other scholars believe that Africa should not repeat the mistakes of developed countries.
In order to ensure that the future generations enjoy the same environmental resources as we are doing today, a Circular Economy is an imperative. Let’s all strive to build one through our daily activities.
