EU backs COMESA push to tackle waste with multi-million-euro programme

THE European Union (EU) has unveiled a multi-million-euro initiative to accelerate the circular economy in Eastern and Southern Africa, as the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) seeks to turn waste into industrial value.

Speaking at the COMESA Green Industries Connect at the Harare International Conference Centre on Monday, Lana Zutelija, team leader for Environment and Climate at the EU Delegation to Zambia and COMESA, said the EU was co-funding the SWITCH to Circular Economy programme with Germany.

The programme is being implemented with Expertise France and Germany’s development agency, GIZ.

“We are very proud to be co-funding with Germany and also implementing with Germany and France,” Zutelija said.

She said the programme was built around three pillars, policy, people and finance, and focused on packaging and plastics, as well as electronics and electronic waste.

“Without access to finance, there is not really much we can reach and achieve altogether,” she said.

Zutelija called for clear Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) frameworks and investment in skills development, particularly for young people and women, through Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET).

“We need to do this altogether. We need to connect the national, regional, continental and global level; and the EU is a very strong partner in this endeavour,” she added.

The forum also heard that circularity must begin before products become waste, with delegates urged to reduce unnecessary production, improve product design, promote reuse and extend product lifespans.

During a panel discussion, COMESA was urged to act as a catalyst by promoting policy dialogue, encouraging compatible EPR approaches and establishing standards for secondary materials.

Such measures would help create a predictable operating environment for circular businesses seeking to invest across borders.

On packaging, described at the forum as a double-edged sword that serves as a silent salesman while also contributing to pollution, COMESA announced plans to establish a regional packaging centre.

The centre will be established under the EU-funded Africa Trade Competitiveness and Market Access Programme, implemented by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and the International Trade Centre (ITC).

It will promote biodegradable alternatives to single-use plastics and help enterprises, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), improve product design and material selection.

The forum also highlighted the waste-management challenges that could accompany Africa’s energy transition, warning that the large-scale deployment of renewable energy technologies would generate new waste streams.

“We must prepare for the end-of-life of PV panels, inverters and storage batteries,” delegates were told.

While renewable energy technologies contain valuable materials that can be recovered, the forum heard that energy-efficiency labelling and minimum performance standards for appliances must be supported by appropriate collection and treatment systems for discarded equipment.

Across all these areas, delegates stressed the need to ensure that SMEs, women, young entrepreneurs, informal waste collectors and repair businesses have access to technology, markets and finance, while operating under safer and more productive conditions.

“Regional circularity must connect prevention, production, consumption and recovery,” the session concluded, adding that the transition should deliver cleaner environments, stronger industries, greater local value addition and decent jobs.

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