Plastic Waste Management in Rwanda

The implementation of end-of-life solutions for plastics, such as recycling and safe disposal, is not keeping pace with production.Fossil-derived plastics are versatile and shown to be a viable material for the manufacture of many consumer and industrial products.According to a number of recent studies, the global production of plastics was over 438 million tonnes (including resins, fibers and additives) in 2017, and if left unchecked, production is projected to more than double by 2040 (UNEP, 2021;Geyer, 2020;Lebreton & Andrady, 2019).Of the estimated 7 billion tonnes of plastic waste produced globally by the end of 2017, only 10 percent has been recycled, with an estimated 76 percent having been landfilled or leaked into the environment (Geyer, 2020).Global solid waste is expected to increase by 73 percent (from 2.24 billion tonnes in 2020 to 3.88 billion tonnes by 2050).As the living standard in Rwanda is increasing over the years, more plastics consumption and waste generation is expected unless the country adopts rigid and effective policies to manage plastics waste.Plastic pollution threatens public health, local economies, and ecosystems, especially aquatic environment, and its environmental impacts is growing at an alarming rate.Exposure to chemicals and pathogens associated with plastics, microplastics, and the burning of plastics has direct impacts on human health (Hermabessiere et al., 2017) and economies.Plastic pollution presents a serious threat to aquatic life through entanglement, starvation, and toxicological harm, and is understood to alter the global carbon cycle (UNEP, 2021).Plastic pollution has significant environmental costs (UNEP, 2021).In Rwanda, SWM is still in its early stages and lacks adequate waste collection and disposal services.Litter and open burning of solid waste are common, including e-waste, especially in small cities and rural areas.Because of plastic pollution, the country is facing increasing risks to public health, ecosystems, and sustainable development.Plastic pollution is a result of market and policy failure in plastics production and consumption, and effective plastics policies are required to address the problem of negative externalities.To control plastic pollution, governments must effectively use a variety of policy instruments to target appropriate points in the plastics lifecycle and influence decision-making by individuals and/or multiple actors across the value chain (EMF, 2021b; UNEP, 2021; Watkins et al., 2019).Many countries, including Rwanda, have begun to implement a range of public policies to manage plastic pollution.For example, more than 60 countries have applied bans, taxes, and levies to curb plastic waste and its impacts (World Bank, 2022).Inventories of the policies used to manage plastic pollution have been developed to assess plastics policies and their effectiveness, as have studies.Most policies currently in operation around the world have a focus on banning plastic bags and foamed plastic products as well as on the prevention and management of plastic waste and reduction of plastics production, or on incorporating renewable or recycled content into plastics.Rwanda's national law banning plastic bags and other single-use plastics items is one of the earliest of its kind in Africa and has been an example to other developing countries.There are key entry points for policy interventions in the management of solid wastes and the reduction of the impact of plastics across the value chain, including through circular economy and better governance and accountability.As solid waste is expected to increase continuously, the concept of a 'circular economy' becomes critical to solid and plastic waste management.Circular economy is a system-wide approach that considers the entire value chain, focusing on reducing the use of non-renewable materials, increasing recycling and the use of renewable and recycled materials, preventing pollution, and extending the lifespan of products while regenerating natural systems.Circular economy considers the entire plastics life cycle and can be facilitated by governments through the application of policies that minimize waste and pollution, e.g., encouraging better design of products to increase durability, repairability, reusability and recyclability, incorporation of recycled and renewable materials into products, facilitating and encouraging reuse and recycling of products and aligning policies to reduce fraud and corruption. An analysis of existing regulatory and policy measures and their effectiveness would help assess what is working, identify the challenges, and determine opportunities for future action.A challenge governments face in policy design and implementation for managing plastic pollution is to understand what causes plastic pollution and policy failure, and what types, and combinations of, policy measures should be used to effectively manage plastic pollution.Effective policy responses to manage plastic pollution generally include combinations of measures or a package of policies and regulations.Such packages include regulations and standards restricting the production, consumption and disposal of plastics, targeted investments in SWM infrastructure and plastic waste recycling, financial incentives (taxes, fees, subsidies, etc.) to change the behavior of plastics producers, consumers, and recyclers, and public procurement methods to drive a change in demand for secondary raw materials and recycled products.An ex-post policy analysis was carried out in Rwanda to understand what plastics policy framework is in place and how effective it has been at achieving a reduction in plastic pollution.Policy evaluation traditionally uses economic and social science research methods, including qualitative and quantitative techniques to examine the effects of policies.A variety of methods were used to identify and select data during the ex-post analysis, including a review of the literature, targeted data collection, and semi-formal interviews.The study required consideration of policies and wider measures both individually and as a 'package'.A suite of evaluation questions and indicators was used to facilitate cross-examination of the policies under consideration.Rwanda has an active plastics landscape, from manufacturing to collection and reprocessing, however the scale of operations is relatively small compared to other nations.The plastics production industry in Rwanda comprised nine plastic (and rubber) manufacturers in 2020 (Rwanda Development Board, 2020) of which 100 percent are small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) (Plastic1.com,n.d.).No data were found to demonstrate the estimated number of people employed in the sector.Rwanda is a net importer of polymer and plastics products.Rwanda's domestic plastics production market was worth US$ 56.3 million in 2019 (National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda, 2020).In 2018, Rwanda imported US$ 41 million worth of plastics and plastic products (UN COMTRADE, 2018) while exports and re-exports of plastics and plastic products were worth US$ 1.5 million (UN COMTRADE).The value of imports increased by 44 percent between 2008 and 2018 (UN COMTRADE, 2018) while exports have remained the same.The data of plastic consumption in Rwanda, however, is largely unreported.