Ismail Musa Ladu
How many times have you seen plastic bags and bottles thrown out of a car window on highways? And have you ever thought about where non-biodegradable materials such as electronic devices, computer parts, batteries, metals and even glasses that you no longer use end up?
No matter how toxic these materials are to the environment it is common to find such wastes thrown by the roadside or dumped into water bodies. You will also hardly find options for non-recyclables and recyclables trash bins strategically placed, and where this is available the discipline for proper disposal is wanting.
This careless waste disposal, costing the environment and human health, is based on a consumption design known as the “take-make-consume-throw away” pattern.
However, there is a way out of this mess in a circular economy where the concept of use and reuse of materials within the economy takes precedence in waste management.
Unlike the linear economy where products are bought, used, and thrown away, with little consideration for recycling, circular economy is all about extending product life by keeping it in use for as long as possible through reusing, repairing, refurbishing and even sharing.
If well implemented, the regulator – Nema, environmental experts and researchers all concur that circular economy can contribute to green recovery, climate adaptation, mitigation, energy savings and biodiversity protection.
This is because circular economy offers a different approach to the traditional linear economic model of take-make-dispose.
According to Advocates Coalition for Development and Environment (ACODE), one of the leading regional public policy think tanks in Sub-Saharan African, circular economy is a fitting response to the linear economic model under which raw materials are sourced, transformed into finished products and sold to consumers leading to waste generation when consumers eventually discard the goods as they approach the conclusion of their usable life cycle.
Researchers also found out that circular economy is the antidote to the long-standing challenge of the linear economy which largely operates under the implicit assumption that resources are limitless and not at risk of depletion.
By implementing a circular economy strategy, companies can develop new business models including renting products, selling spare parts and reusing raw materials which are all new ways of meeting market needs while stimulating innovation.
But for this to happen there will be a need for the government to play its role of providing the enabling policy and ensuring implementation. This should start with the enactment and review of the relevant policy instruments such as the Nema Act, the National Development Plan IV, including the Uganda Green Growth Strategy.
The government should also spearhead the awareness campaign to promote the circular economy while at the same time provide the required incentives for investment in this space to the private sector to promote related enterprises.
According to the Ministry of Water and Environment, the country’s forests, swamps, and water bodies are facing serious threats from pollution, rapid human encroachment, and overexploitation. However circular economy can go a long way in addressing all these environmental threats.
Although knowledge and perceptions of this model are still not properly understood, the good news perhaps is that already Uganda has taken a major step towards creating a circular economy to drive sustainable growth and green industrialisation in line with its Vision 2040 National Agenda.
The next step is to actualise this dream because that is where the real proof of the pudding is. If this happens, it will then be easy for a product to be recycled, thereby creating further value in addition to getting a fresh lease of life. As we speak the Ministry of Water and Environment whose mandate includes waste management, remains wanting. Implementing a circular economy is the way out to improve this desired performance.
Mr Ismail Musa Ladu is a Business, Economy, and Finance Journalist - Nation Media Group Uganda.
