Stewardship Multi-Stakeholder Partnerships Regional Exchange – Partnering towards a Circular Economy in Ethiopia
Stewardship multi-stakeholder partnerships as a catalyst for change
Hosted by partner representatives from the “Partnership for Circular Value Chains in Addis Ababa” in collaboration with the NatuReS team Ethiopia, a two-day regional exchange event in Addis Ababa aimed to showcase how multi-stakeholder partnerships can act as vehicles for collective action for a circular economy.
Members of partnerships that are supported by GIZ NatuReS from Tanzania, South Africa and Zambia came to Ethiopia to learn more about the approach on plastic value chains and circular economy taken in Addis Ababa.
Promoting Circular Solutions: Partnership for Circular Value Chains
A common threat to natural resources that all countries are facing is the pollution of resources like water and soils from waste. Therefore, solutions are needed that transform the economy from a linear approach to a more circular one. The regional exchange event showcased solutions along the recycling value chain for plastic that were developed within the Partnership for Circular Value Chains in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
On the first day of the event, the introduction and overview of the partnership and its members was followed by various presentations from partners sharing important insights from different sectoral perspectives.
Key topics ranged from private sector engagement and circularity policies to gender inclusivity in circular initiatives, exploring the roles of multi-stakeholder partnerships in supporting women-owned MSMEs.
During a sectoral exchange among public, private, and civil society stakeholders, participants were able to exchange on challenges and opportunities, best practises and lessons learned from their respective contexts.
From theory to practise – Field visit along the plastic value chain
To get a better understanding of how the partnerships´ circular economy approach looks like in practise, the participants of the regional exchange event embarked on a field visit journey along the plastic value chain on the second day of the event.
The first stop was a waste transfer station. Due to insufficient separation of waste at the household level, waste collectors bring all sorts of waste to the transfer station where it is separated. Instead of going directly to landfill, valuable materials such as plastic can be extracted and are sold for recycling. By increasing the efficiency of waste management, the amount of waste that ends up in the environment is significantly reduced.
Much of the plastic that is collected are PET bottles. The bottles are shredded into plastic flakes which can be used as a raw material for new products. Through creating business linkages, provision of trainings for small and micro scale enterprises on business skills, and provision of waste management equipment, the partnership promotes and supports a transformation from linear to circular value chains.
The transformation towards a more circular economy must be socially just, taking the rights and needs of all societal actors into consideration to leave no one behind. The partnership supports women who use the recycled plastic that was collected in the transfer station to create their own businesses and generate a basic income through selling upcycled products, such as shopping baskets. These new opportunities significantly increase the women´s quality of life and enables them to have access to basic services.
The private sector also has a strong interest in innovative, sustainable solutions to address the waste problem and to contribute to a circular economy. During the field trip, participants visited the production side of the private company Kubik, a member of the Circular Value Chains partnership, to learn how they use plastic waste to produce building materials for houses, made entirely from recycled plastic.
Looking ahead
The opportunity to connect with actors that face similar challenges during the two-day regional exchange was very valuable for all partners. The regional exchange event not only enabled them to network, share and learn together, but also sparked ideas to kickstart the replication of the NatuReS stewardship approach in other circular economy related partnerships across the region within the NatuReS partner countries. Through ongoing exchange and sharing of experiences, stakeholders from all sectors will continue to develop partnerships that can support the transformation towards a circular economy.
Learn more about the Partnership for Circular Value Chains Addis Ababa here.