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This collection is part of Footprints Africa's work to build a comprehensive database of circular economy initiatives in Africa. 

This is a result of the collaboration with the <a href="https://www.acen.africa" target="_blank">African Circular Economy Network (ACEN)</a>, as part of the programme to support the circular economy transition in Africa. Footprints Africa's vision is that businesses can be a force for good at scale. Their mission is to advance sustainable, scalable and inclusive approaches to development of local African economies. Footprints Africa supports SMEs to adopt future-friendly practices, such as those inspired by the circular economy, to address the challenges of growth and create jobs. 

This open-source dataset features well over 500 cases and 200 examples of policies and laws and intent to collect inspiring examples of initiatives from across Africa, in order to inform the global dialogue, which is largely focused on the European and American context. 

To learn more about Africa's initiatives and content to accelerate the transition to a circular economy, visit https://www.footprintsafrica.co/



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Footprints Africa

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Business case

Minimise waste through diversion: Instead of sending waste to landfill, it is redirected into other industrial processes for handling, treatment, recycling, recovery, or reuse in various forms. 

Minimise waste through design: At the outset of a process of project, plan and design such that there is zero waste or minimal waste during production, use, and at end of life. 

Minimise Waste (SDG12)

Producing building materials and finished and semi-finished building products for construction

Construction Materials and Products

Transforming waste products, materials for reuse within other industries

Open loop upcycling

Impacts

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Industries

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The principles of a circular economy concern designing out waste, regenerating ecosystems and keeping items in use. Decoupling the economy from material flows—improving the rate of resource productivity faster than the economic growth rate—is also a consistent guide. By evolving with the growing number of applications of circular economy principles, and consolidating these strategies across thematic areas, Circle Economy’s Key Elements Framework (KE) renders the elements of the circular economy salient and serves as a basis to derive contextual strategies and interventions. 


The Framework consists of:
- Core Elements: Activities directly handling product or material flows; and uniquely,
- Enabling Elements: those that remove obstacles for core actors.


Key elements of the circular economy

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Circle Economy's framework of strategies and activities that define the circular economy

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Based on the work of [Bocken et al. (2016)](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/309699661_Product_design_and_business_model_strategies_for_a_circular_economy), the Four Flows Framework serves as a simple framework for managing resource flows in a circular economy by using less (Narrow), using for longer (Slow), using again (Cycle), and using clean, regenerative materials and energy (Regenerate).

These different principles of circular economy can be applied to our socioeconomic metabolism: we can design stocks like buildings, infrastructure, machinery, and vehicles to be rich resource mines for the future, and design manufactured goods and consumables to be cycled and made regenerative. Furthermore, the focus must also centre on getting more value out of fewer materials. Achieving the aims of a circular economy—minimising material use, regenerating the Earth, and preventing material losses—can be done through these four key strategies mentioned above.

Source: Circle Economy. (2023). *[The circularity gap report 2023](https://www.circularity-gap.world/2023)* (p.22). Amsterdam: Circle Economy. 

Four Flows Framework

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Dar es Salaam

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Arena Recycling Industry is a social business that collects plastic waste from beaches in Dar es Salaam and produce building materials such as Eco-Bricks, paving block and tiles out of recycled plastic waste for construction of affordable houses, toilets and other buildings in rural areas

Arena Recycling Industry

<p>Arena Recycling Industry offer Eco friendly Bricks made from recycled plastic waste for construction of affordable houses, offices, schools and toilets</p>

Arena Recycling Industry - Plastic waste into Eco-friendly Bricks

Direct and indirect reduction in economic costs

Cost Savings

Reduced use and withdrawal of water and rate of recycling and reuse of water

Save Water (SDG6)

Producing building materials and providing services to create residential and non-residential infrastructure and real estate


Construction and Infrastructure

Utilise waste streams as a source of secondary resources and recover waste for reuse and recycling

Use waste as a resource

Research and facilitate new technological developments to aid the transition to a circular economy.

Research and Development

Cycle strategies aim to cycle and reuse materials at their highest value: they maximise the volume of secondary materials re-entering the economy, ultimately minimising the need for virgin material inputs and therefore also narrowing flows. Of course, virgin materials will always be needed to a degree: all materials degrade and can’t be cycled infinitely, use energy, and require blending with virgin materials to maintain strength and functionality.

Cycle

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Arena Recycling Industry is a social business that collects plastic waste from beaches in Dar es Salaam and produce building materials such as Eco-Bricks, paving block and tiles out of recycled plastic waste for construction of affordable houses, toilets and other buildings in rural areas.
Our solution not only contributes to plastic-free beaches and waterways, but also helps bridge the water and sanitation gap by constructing water tanks and latrines with our eco-bricks. We educate and promote the change of behavior in waste disposal, by involve community recycle’s into logistic and improve their income by buying collected plastic waste from environment, the collected plastic waste is then sorted according to plastic waste composition (density) melted and mixed with sand to produce bricks covered during courses. 
Aim and Objective
Saving the worlds free from plastic waste by offering sustainable product made from recycled plastic waste that impacts social , Environmental and Economic ,generating products and alternative focused on sustainable development

LikeLikedSee AllArena recycling industry offer Eco friendly Bricks made from recycled plastic waste for construction of affordable houses,offices,schools and toilets See MoreSee Less

Tanzania

Africa

Footprints Africa supports SMEs to adopt future-friendly practices, address the challenges of growth and create jobs, using supply chains as a tool for development. 

The vision of the African Circular Economy Network (ACEN) is to build a restorative African economy that generates well-being and prosperity inclusive of all its people through new forms of economic production and consumption which maintain and regenerate its environmental resources.

African Circular Economy Network

<p>Arena Recycling collects plastic waste from beaches in Dar es Salaam to produce building materials for construction of affordable houses, toilets and other buildings</p>