Africa’s Wasted Potential: Unlocking Industrial Waste in Circularity

March 25, 2025

Africa’s industries generate millions of tonnes of waste annually. Most of it ends up in landfills or is burnt openly due to inefficient management systems. Unlike municipal or plastic waste, industrial waste lacks tailored policies, recovery mechanisms and explicit financial incentives for reuse. The result is growing environmental burden and missed economic opportunities.

Can waste become a resource? This report examines the current state of industrial waste circularity across key African countries, revealing how a lack of targeted policies and technological support as well as waste inventory gaps are holding back progress. Through successful case studies, it highlights isolated yet promising models of waste reuse, from co-processing in cement kilns to industrial symbiosis in manufacturing.

This report further offers a roadmap charting opportunities for scaling circular practices and steps to achieve industrial symbiosis. With the right strategies, industrial waste can be transformed into a driver of sustainable growth, reducing landfill dependence, cutting GHG emissions, and creating jobs while easing reliance on virgin resources. Africa’s industries have the choice between treating waste as a liability or harnessing it as an opportunity. This report traces the path forward.