Policy case

Reduced green house gas emissions released into the biosphere

Reduce Emissions (SDG13)

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)

Collecting waste from households and businesses by means of refuse bins, wheeled bins, containers, etc., and providing treatment, incineration, materials recovery and reclamation, and disposal of hazardous and non-hazardous waste

Waste Management

Engaging in discussions with government bodies and policymakers to push for regulations that support the circular economy

Advocacy for circular economy policy

Participating in government programmes that support and advance the circular economy

Government programmes

Roadmaps and strategies and targets

Institutional design to enable circularity

'Regulate' changes the rules of the systems to achieve compliance through enforcement. 


Regulate

Impacts

small_climate-4803653_640.jpg

thumbnail_climate-4803653_640.jpg

climate-4803653_640.jpg

Industries

small_coast-wind-turbine-sea-sky.jpg

thumbnail_coast-wind-turbine-sea-sky.jpg

coast-wind-turbine-sea-sky.jpg

A framework of policy instruments that enabled and encourage the transition to the circular economy

Policies

medium_image-20160922-22514-1aqaw5j.jpg

small_image-20160922-22514-1aqaw5j.jpg

thumbnail_image-20160922-22514-1aqaw5j.jpg

image-20160922-22514-1aqaw5j.jpg

A framework of policy instruments that enable and stimulate the transition to the circular economy

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

large_photo-1515534238346-fb9ae3e399d0.jpg

medium_photo-1515534238346-fb9ae3e399d0.jpg

small_photo-1515534238346-fb9ae3e399d0.jpg

thumbnail_photo-1515534238346-fb9ae3e399d0.jpg

photo-1515534238346-fb9ae3e399d0.jpg

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

 As many countries in Africa embrace the latest technology—smartphones, computers, and other electronic gadgets—few have developed national strategies for managing the resulting e-waste. E-waste may include electrical and electronic assemblies, scrap, and batteries. Some contains hazardous materials such as cadmium, mercury, lead, and polychlorinated biphenyl.
Uganda is one of several nations working to establish a coherent e-waste policy and looking to neighboring Rwanda for lessons in how to develop and implement it.
What Is E-Waste?
E-waste describes everything from the electronic components of large household appliances (such as refrigerators and air conditioners) to personal products such as cell phones, personal stereos, and computers.
Callist Tindimugaya, a hydrologist and commissioner for water resources planning and regulation in Uganda’s Ministry of Water and Environment, agreed. “Many people use mobile phones and computers. Such gadgets are being changed without the proper disposal of the old ones.”
In Uganda, this e-waste ends up in landfills. “We do not have a [specific] landfill for e-waste and do not know how to manage it. Old electronic equipment contains toxic materials, and some of them are persistent organic pollutants,” said Naomi Namara Karekaho, a development communicator and educator with Uganda’s National Environment Management Authority.
Elioda Tumwesigye, minister for the Ugandan Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation, said the e-waste problem has turned into a crisis, and he is helping Uganda to develop a management policy to address the issue.
“We understand the health hazards e-waste poses for Ugandans, and that is why we have been advocating for policies to manage our e-waste,” he said.
Rwanda Moves Ahead in East Africa in E-Waste Management
As Uganda grapples with e-waste, neighboring Rwanda has already invested in addressing the problem.
Rwanda’s National e-Waste Management Policy provides for enactment of specific legislation for management and disposal of e-waste to safeguard human life and the environment. In developing the policy, Rwandan officials considered international conventions such as the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal, the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants, the World Charter for Nature, the Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer, and the Millennium Development Goals.
Olivier Mbera, country general manager of EnviroServe Rwanda, explained how Rwanda approached the creation of its e-waste policy. First, the country conducted an initial inventory to assess the e-waste situation and develop a legal framework for what was needed to address it. The framework is still relied on, even though the recycling plant is now operational.
The framework includes offering financial incentives to individuals who collect e-waste from the community and bring it to the plant for recycling. The incentives are based on weight, with community members offered US$100 for 13–15 kilograms of e-waste collected. Mbera says such incentives motivate people to use the plant and embrace the importance of having a clean environment. Rwanda’s e-waste policy also fosters “sustainable recycling industries on a national, regional, and international level,” Mbera said.
On the basis of the newly created policy, Rwanda’s Green Fund invested close to $1.5 million to establish an environmentally friendly e-waste collection center and dismantling facility. The facility, constructed in Rwanda’s Bugesera District, is capable of recycling 15,000 metric tons of e-waste every year.
“The recycling facility is now operational and yielding positive socioeconomic impacts for the country. Three hundred people are already employed in green jobs, and students have been given internships at the facility,” Mbera said.
Oliver Mbera (left), country general manager of EnviroServe Rwanda, guides the Rwandan minister of foreign affairs, Vincent Biruta (second from left), through the e-waste facility in Bugesera, Rwanda. Credit: Hope Mafaranga
In addition to the recycling plant, Rwanda has also established a series of collection centers in each district across the country. Mbera said these centers have created more than 1,000 jobs.
Vincent Biruta, a physician and Rwanda’s minister of foreign affairs, emphasizes that Rwanda’s effective e-waste policies also benefit local economies. “Adequate e-waste management allows the recovery of precious metals such as gold, silver, platinum, palladium, copper, and tin from disposed-of components and also creates new business and job creation opportunities in the e-waste collection and management value chain, while reducing the environmental burden to landfills.”
—Hope Mafaranga (@Mafaranga), Science Writer 

Uganda

Government of Uganda

Uganda has set up an e-waste management policy framework to tackle the growing problem of getting rid of IT waste. Since the country lacks any facilities to properly recycle these electronic materials, they will become hazardous for the environment and pollution levels if they end up in landfills.

New E-Waste Management Policy Framework in Uganda 

small_20210526 - CJI logo - 185x600px-01.png

thumbnail_20210526 - CJI logo - 185x600px-01.png

20210526 - CJI logo - 185x600px-01.png

This collection comes from the <a href="https://www.circle-economy.com/circular-jobs-initiative/" target="_blank">Circular Jobs Initiative</a>, an initiative of Circle Economy.

The workforce is an essential lever for transforming our economy from linear to circular. The Circular Jobs Initiative aims to maximise the employment opportunities offered by the circular economy. It provides practical support and insights to businesses and governments that want to adopt circular strategies that have a positive social impact.The Circular Jobs Initiative works through three focus areas: 

- Upskilling the workforce

- Quality of work

- Inclusive job opportunities 

CJI has defined circular jobs as any occupation that directly involves or indirectly supports one of the strategies of the circular economy. It distinguishes between three types of circular jobs: core, enabling and indirectly circular jobs.

**Core circular jobs** are all jobs that ensure the closure of raw material cycles, including jobs in repair, renewable energy, waste and resource management. 

**‍Enabling circular jobs** are jobs that remove barriers for and enable the acceleration and upscaling of core circular activities, including jobs that arise in leasing, education, design and digital technology. 

**Indirectly circular jobs** are jobs that occur in other sectors that do not play a direct role in furthering the transition to the circular economy but can still adopt circular strategies. They include jobs that provide services to core circular strategies, including jobs in information services, logistics and the public sector.

The Knowledge Hub Collection includes examples of circular jobs, publications, reports, case studies and policies different organisations, governments and businesses are already using to advocate for a person-centred circular economy. 

Visit the <a href="https://www.circle-economy.com/circular-jobs-initiative/" target="_blank">Circular Jobs Initiative</a>

Visit the <a href="http://jobsmonitor.circle-economy.com/" target="_blank">Circular Jobs Monitor</a>

20210526 - CJI vignette - circle crop - 120x120px.png

Circular Jobs Initiative

large_shutterstock_406114573.jpg

medium_shutterstock_406114573.jpg

small_shutterstock_406114573.jpg

thumbnail_shutterstock_406114573.jpg

shutterstock_406114573.jpg

Impact on the quantity or quality of jobs, and shifts in the labour market

Jobs

Impact on the health and happiness of human populations

Well-being

Providing electricity and gas services, including traditional and renewable energy generation, natural and manufactured gas and operating gas networks

Energy Utilities and Independent Power Producers

Producing and gathering crop and animal products from land and water through farming, hunting, and fishing

Agriculture

Engage with the government on circular policies and programmes

Government collaboration

Develop infrastructure to support sustainable lifestyles

Metrics and indicators to measure progress

Advocate for circular change

Voluntary agreements around circular ambitions

This article has been modified - Original article published on the South Africa Department of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries website  South Africa has recently approved three key actions that will contribute to an environment that is not only healthy for all South Africans, but also able to contribute effectively to sustainable economic development and job creation.  During its meeting in September 2020, the Cabinet approved the revised National Waste Management Strategy 2020, the Low Emissions Development Strategy, and the Presidential Climate Change Coordinating Commission (PCCCC). The approved National Waste Management Strategy (NWMS) 2020 is broadly focused on preventing waste and diverting waste from landfill by leveraging the concept of Circular Economy to drive sustainable, inclusive economic growth and development in the waste sector, while reducing the social and environmental impacts of waste. Its implementation plan is designed to facilitate the creation of jobs in the waste sector and increase awareness and compliance around waste. Building on the successes and lessons learned from the 2011 strategy Among the significant strategic shifts from the 2011 strategy in the NWMS 2020 include addressing the role of waste pickers and the informal sector in the Circular Economy, promoting product design packaging that reduces waste or encourages reuse, repair and preparation for recycling, and support markets for source separated recyclables. NWMS 2020 also investigates potential regulatory or economic interventions to increase participation rates in residential separation at source programmes, alongside investing in the economies associated with transporting of recyclables to waste processing facilities and addressing the skills gaps within the sector. IUCN MARPLASTICCs initiative Through its MARPLASTICCs initiative, IUCN supported the strategy development process by sharing knowledge and lessons derived from its activities addressing marine plastics and advocating for the integration of the marine plastic pollution dimension which had been missing in the previous strategy. “South Africa’s vision and commitment in addressing waste is commendable, as articulated through its new waste management strategy that puts great emphasis on waste prevention and minimization, and enshrines the concept of circular economy,” said Peter Manyara, the Regional Project Coordinator, MARPLASTICCs project. IUCN is supporting National governments and stakeholders in the Eastern and Southern Africa region to integrate a circular economy approach in addressing and reducing plastic pollution. This is achieved through its multipronged approach that contributes to strengthening national knowledge on plastic leakage at all stages of plastics life-cycle, including co-shaping recommendations on appropriate interventions and policy instruments to address the problem.  Overarching pillars of the National Waste Management Strategy 2020
There are three overarching pillars of the revised National Waste Management Strategy 2020:

The Uganda Green Growth Development Strategy (UGGDS) focuses on five core catalytic investment areas of agriculture, natural capital management, green cities (urban development), transport, and energy, until 2030/2031. The envisaged outcomes of the UGGDS implementation are income and livelihood enhancement; decent green jobs; climate change adaptation and mitigation; sustainable environment and natural resources management; food and nutrition security; resource use efficiency; and social inclusiveness and economic transformation at the sub-national and national levels.

 Uganda Green Growth Development Strategy

small_iclei.png

thumbnail_iclei.png

iclei.png

Circle Economy and ICLEI have partnered up to initiate the go to knowledge hub of case studies about the circular economy in cities. The Cities Collection is a repository of case studies that demonstrate the role of cities in the circular transition, and includes policies, business cases and research articles. Cases in the Collection flow into an ecosystem of digital products which support users in transitioning cities to circularity, for example [Ganbatte](https://ganbatte.world/cities/) and <a href="https://circulars.iclei.org/" target="_blank">ICLEI Circulars</a>, both part of the <a href="https://circulars.iclei.org/circle-lab-for-cities/" target = _blank">Circle Lab for Cities Programme.</a>

large_Circular-City-Actions-Framework-infographic-scaled_gray background.jpeg

medium_Circular-City-Actions-Framework-infographic-scaled_gray background.jpeg

small_Circular-City-Actions-Framework-infographic-scaled_gray background.jpeg

thumbnail_Circular-City-Actions-Framework-infographic-scaled_gray background.jpeg

Circular-City-Actions-Framework-infographic-scaled_gray background.jpeg

Circular Cities

large_eugene-kuznetsov-swmakc2l4EM-unsplash_2.jpeg

medium_eugene-kuznetsov-swmakc2l4EM-unsplash_2.jpeg

small_eugene-kuznetsov-swmakc2l4EM-unsplash_2.jpeg

thumbnail_eugene-kuznetsov-swmakc2l4EM-unsplash_2.jpeg

eugene-kuznetsov-swmakc2l4EM-unsplash_2.jpeg

Direct and indirect effects that increase revenues or the potential for new revenues, for example from new products, customer segments, partnerships or business models

Revenue Potential

Contributing to the improvement of biodiversity including species diversity, total number of protected species, and ecosystem health

Biodiversity

Engage with the local community where facilities or offices are located

Community collaboration

Preserving and conserving biological products such as food, forests, etc.

Preservation, conservation

Managing and enriching biological products such as soil, land, etc.

Management, enrichment

Implement innovation programmes

Raise awareness and run information campaigns about  strategies for and impacts of the circular economy in different contexts.

Communication and awareness

Information campaigns

As cities have expanded, they have conventionally pushed space for agricultural activities to the peripheries and surrounding rural areas, and have become reliant on globalised supply chains. Cities can nevertheless have a home for organic urban and peri-urban agriculture. 

Organic urban and peri-urban agriculture refers to production of food that happens either in or near the city. It includes organic farming at any scale, and can also refer to small holders, various forms of private urban farming initiatives, and community initiatives (vegetable gardens). Organic urban and peri-urban agriculture can support food security in the city, boost biodiversity, as well as stimulate local economies and community participation.

A local government may stimulate and enable organic urban and peri-urban agriculture by making spaces in and near the city available for markets, growing spaces and waste processing through spatial planning. Communities may be engaged through the use of making information and tooling available, alongside making spaces in neighbourhoods available and accessible to different people through spatial planning. Local governments can support local food services businesses in sourcing and obtaining locally grown organic crops. 


small_Growing food.jpeg

thumbnail_Growing food.jpeg

Growing food.jpeg

🍏  Organic urban and peri-urban agriculture

The food system nourishes populations and employs 50% of the global workforce, but:
- it currently drives a quarter of the overshoot on the climate change planetary boundary due to its greenhouse gas (GHG) production, 
- animal farming alone uses over one-quarter of all land, equivalent to the size of the Americas,
- nearly a quarter of freshwater resources are lost due to rampant food waste, and
- it is the single largest driver of biodiversity loss.

A circular food system must address the whole value chain, from production to consumption to waste management. The four key solutions for the food system are:
- Put healthier, satiating foods first: Prioritise satiating and healthy foods with a lower environmental impact—ideally shifting calories from meat, fish, and dairy towards cereals, fruits, vegetables, and nuts.
- Go local, seasonal, and organic: Prioritise the production and consumption of local, seasonal, and organic produce (sometimes in combination with GMO to reduce pests and disease loss on crops), which can lead to a significantly reduced need for chemical inputs, fuels, and processing services that contribute to environmental impacts.
- Mainstream regenerative agriculture: Scale up agricultural practices that regenerate ecosystems, recirculate nutrients and sequester carbon by design. 
- End avoidable food waste: Minimise food loss and valorise waste following the food waste hierarchy along the supply chain and at the consumer level through better management of transport and storage, more refrigeration and smart planning, and technology at the consumer and food service levels.



🍏 Food Systems

Communities

Governments

Much of the world’s croplands are situated within peri-urban areas, yet this food is often not consumed in its neighbouring urban area, rather it is exported and consumed vast distances away. By strengthening links with food producers in surrounding peri-urban and urban areas, to create city-region food systems, cities can influence the way food is produced and how resources are managed. For example, reconnecting cities with their local food production can create local economies, encourage local seasonal diets, denser local transport networks, and even support regenerative techniques that support native crop varieties. This in conjunction with trade supports a more distributed system that relies on a diverse range of suppliers, and can cycle nutrients from food wastes back to the surrounding ecosystem. 

To foster city-region food systems, local governments can engage and convene stakeholders along the local food chain, from farmers, to logistics companies, to jointly envision the path to a local circular food system. This can be facilitated through the creation of platforms to connect local stakeholders. The City can also stimulate the use of regionally and regeneratively produced foods through, for example, rewarding best practices, and raising public awareness through campaigns. 


large_justin-luebke-BkkVcWUgwEk-unsplash.jpeg

medium_justin-luebke-BkkVcWUgwEk-unsplash.jpeg

small_justin-luebke-BkkVcWUgwEk-unsplash.jpeg

thumbnail_justin-luebke-BkkVcWUgwEk-unsplash.jpeg

justin-luebke-BkkVcWUgwEk-unsplash.jpeg

🍏  Strengthen urban-rural links within the food system

The Circular City Actions Framework provides urban changemakers with five complementary strategies they can use to start working towards a more circular system. 

The framework is action-based to provide users with concrete strategic directions and showcase the desired outcomes of each strategy. 
The framework consists of five complementary **strategies**, under which **sub-strategies** provide further detail. Finally, each sub-strategy consists of a diversity of tangible **solutions** which are framed in relation to key thematic areas. 

Note: solutions are currently focused on:
- 🍏 **Food systems**
- 🏢  **Built environment**
- 👕📱  **Consumer goods**
- ⚡ **Energy Systems**
- 🚌 **Mobility Systems**
- 💧 **Water Systems**

More thematic areas are coming soon...

'Click through each of the five strategy cards below to explore the framework and circular economy case studies in more depth!'



This framework was developed in collaboration with ICLEI, Metabolic and Ellen MacArthur Foundation with support from the MAVA Foundation. Read more about it [here]( https://circulars.iclei.org/action-framework/). 



Circular City Actions Framework

An action-based framework for local governments working towards circular cities

Thematic Areas

City Stakeholders

        
    The programme drawn on the achievements of the District Development Support Programme, scaled up the decentralized development approach in 13 districts (Yumbe, Oyam, Apac, Busia, Bugiri, Mayuge, Luweero, Nakaseke, Masindi, Buliisa, Bundibugyo, Kyenjojo, Kamwenge) targeting landless people, small-scale farmers and fishers, and, in particular, women and youth among 100,000 households. To accelerate decentralization, the programme worked to support local economic development and strengthen the capacity of district governments to foster community development. Activities focus on community mobilization, agriculture and land management, and the development of access roads and water infrastructure.
On land and natural resource governance, the programme supported the implementation of the Land Act in selected sub-counties, taking into account different tenure situations. It implemented the household mentoring approach giving a positive impact on co-spousal registration and women’s land access; and disseminated information through 52 awareness raising events on land tenure rights and training on land tenure and management policies. Through the programme, community-based management institutions were established; individual occupier land certificates were released and community and farm-based management plans for land, soil, water and vegetation conservation were developed.
    
          


                Status: Closed  Country  Uganda  Approval Date 14 December 2006 Duration 2006 - 2014 Sector Rural Development 
Total Project Cost   US$ 50.88 million  
IFAD Financing   US$ 47.83 million  Co-financiers (Domestic)  National Government US$ 2.42 million  Financing terms 
Highly Concessional  
Project ID  1100001369 Project Contact  Alessandro Marini       

     

thumbnail_blob

blob

The District Livelihoods Support Programme, is a government project in Uganda that, among other activities, offers enterprise grants to farmers’ groups. To accelerate decentralization, the programme worked to support local economic development and strengthen the capacity of district governments to foster community development. Activities focus on community mobilization, agriculture and land management, and the development of access roads and water infrastructure.