By Sheila Kagwe
Every day, Nairobi produces over 2.5 tonnes of solid waste. But what if most of that waste wasn’t ‘waste’ at all? They say one man’s trash is another man’s treasure. But to know this, is to understand what circular economy really means.
Circular economy
This is an economic system designed to eliminate waste and make the most out of the resources. Instead of the regular ‘take- make- use- dispose ’ that is employed, circular economy uses ‘reduce-reuse-repair-recycle-regenerate’
A good example would be a bottled water. You buy, drink, and toss the bottle, and pollute. Instead, we would employ to have a stainless steel water bottle and reuse daily. Other local examples of how circular economy works is through Mukuru Clean Stoves. They turn recycled waste metal collected from local scrap yards to low- cost, energy efficient tools. This reduces costs, keeps waste out of landfills and supports circular economy.
The Business Case
Circular start-ups are powerful because they rely on reuse and recycling which requires human labour in terms of waste collection, production, repair and maintenance and also distribution making it an ideal way to create jobs especially for women.
Circular start-ups also help environmentally by reducing waste and pollution. They also help attract investors by offering measurable impact and align with global sustainability goals.
In all this, the government helps in the setting up of policies, provide incetives and attract international climate finance. The government creates the rules of the game and financial frameworks that make circular economy work.
The innovation hubs are also really good since they nurture ideas into scalable businesses and connect start-ups with funding and markets.
The corporates channel the funding or drive the capital flow and demand-side adoption by making sustainability profitable.
Together, they form the ecosystem that determines whether a sustainability idea stays a project or grows into the next Mukuru Clean Stoves.
So the next time you want to dispose of any item, make sure to remember that it just might be useful to the next person.
