African countries are increasingly facing development challenges. Waste management is one of them. While different countries face different issues, there are common waste management challenges that could be solved using the teachings and practices of other African countries. The Africa Waste Management Outlook (WMO) is, therefore, intended to highlight both the challenges and possible solutions for sustainable waste management in Africa, and to provide opportunities for countries to learn from what others in Africa are doing.
The Africa WMO provides the first comprehensive analysis of waste management on the African continent. It forms part of a series of regional waste management outlooks prepared by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). The Africa WMO aims to make the case that sound waste management is much more than merely desirable, it is absolutely essential and politically expedient for ensuring public health and environmental protection. While limited findings exist for Africa, global insights show that the cost of inaction of poor waste management is significant. By recognising waste management as a significant contributor to sustainable development and climate change mitigation, the benefits of correctly managing waste now are likely to outweigh the costs of inaction for African countries. In light of this, the outlook recognises the role of analytical frameworks such as integrated sustainable waste management (ISWM) and various assessment tools such as cost benefit analysis (CBA), environmental impact assessment (EIA) and life-cycle analysis (LCA) in the effective management of end-of-life products, to prevent and minimize waste and transit to a circular economy.