PLASTIC POLLUTION IN AFRICA: IDENTIFYING POLICY GAPS AND OPPORTUNITIES

The report highlights that while Africa currently produces and consumes a small fraction of global plastics, a 'business as usual' trajectory could lead to a 375% increase in consumption by 2060. It identifies systemic failures across the plastics life cycle—from production to secondary markets—and argues that existing policy frameworks are fragmented and overly focused on end-of-life waste management. The document advocates for a comprehensive, life-cycle approach, the integration of the informal waste sector, and the development of a new legally binding global treaty to combat plastic pollution.

• Plastic consumption in Africa is projected to increase by 375% between 2015 and 2060 if current trends continue, driven by population growth and GDP increases.
• Africa generated 19 million tonnes of plastic waste in 2015, with 17 million tonnes of that amount being mismanaged.
• The packaging sector is identified as the primary hotspot for plastic leakage across the continent, exhibiting the highest absolute leakage and volumes of mismanaged waste.
• Plastic pollution in Africa causes significant socio-economic damage; for example, the minimum life cycle cost of plastic produced in South Africa in 2019 was approximately $60.72 billion.
• The informal waste sector provides a critical 'bridging service' in waste collection and recycling, saving South African municipalities up to R750 million (~$49 million) annually in landfill airspace as of 2014.
• Current policy and legal frameworks in Africa are fragmented and ineffective because they focus primarily on downstream waste management rather than a systemic, full life cycle approach.
• There is a critical lack of national policies in Africa addressing upstream activities, such as the reduction of virgin plastic production.
• African ministers, through the African Ministerial Conference on the Environment (AMCEN), have expressed a collective commitment to support a new legally binding global agreement to combat plastic pollution.
• Plastic pollution is linked to climate change as greenhouse gas emissions occur at every stage of the plastics life cycle; total life cycle emissions are projected to increase fourfold to 56 Gt by 2050.

APA

Sadan, Z., & de Kock, L. (2021). PLASTIC POLLUTION IN AFRICA: IDENTIFYING POLICY GAPS AND OPPORTUNITIES. WWF South Africa. https://wwfafrica.awsassets.panda.org/downloads/wwf_plastic_pollution.pdf

Chicago

Sadan, Zaynab, and Lorren de Kock. PLASTIC POLLUTION IN AFRICA: IDENTIFYING POLICY GAPS AND OPPORTUNITIES. WWF South Africa, 2021. https://wwfafrica.awsassets.panda.org/downloads/wwf_plastic_pollution.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Sadan |first1=Zaynab |last2=de Kock |first2=Lorren |title=PLASTIC POLLUTION IN AFRICA: IDENTIFYING POLICY GAPS AND OPPORTUNITIES |publisher=WWF South Africa |date=2021 |url=https://wwfafrica.awsassets.panda.org/downloads/wwf_plastic_pollution.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{sadan2021plastic, author = {Sadan, Zaynab and de Kock, Lorren}, title = {{PLASTIC POLLUTION IN AFRICA: IDENTIFYING POLICY GAPS AND OPPORTUNITIES}}, institution = {WWF South Africa}, year = {2021}, url = {https://wwfafrica.awsassets.panda.org/downloads/wwf_plastic_pollution.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }