West Africa can cash in on its plastic waste

Recyling of West Africa's plastic waste, which has also become an urgent environmental issue globally, could be fuelling the region's economy instead of polluting the ocean, say experts.

"Plastic pollution is an urgent environmental issue, globally. Every year, about 8 million tons of plastic end up in the oceans.

Most of the 17 West African countries have a problem managing plastic waste. Eight of them are among the top 20 with the least effective plastic waste management practices – up from five in 2015. This has worsened marine pollution and adversely affected activities in the region.

Coastal provinces account for about 56% of the region’s GDP and one-third of the population lives there.

In 2018, West African nations launched the West Africa Coastal Area Management Programme to protect and restore the ecological, social and economic assets of coastal areas. It’s supposed to do this by addressing coastal erosion, flooding and pollution. Last year, it received an additional US$246 million (about

For many years, we have researched development economics, particularly the interface between the use of natural resources and the development of countries. We’ve also been involved in research on plastic pollution through the interdisciplinary “Revolution Plastics” initiative of the University of

Our findings on plastic pollution could help West African countries to spend

We recommend that nations first quantify the volume, type and origin of plastics discarded in coastal zones. Then they must focus on reducing plastics from source, as well as promoting reuse and recycling. They can draw on successful case studies globally, which can be adapted to local contexts.

HEALTHY OCEANS, CIRCULAR ECONOMY