• The Sustainable Management of Single Use Plastics project was launched in Rwanda.

• The project has been divided into three phases.

• Rwanda has plans to reduce its greenhouse emission by 28% by 2030.

Rwanda celebrates World Environmental day annually on June 5th. In 2021, during the 2021 World Environmental day acknowledgment, the Sustainable Management of Single Use Plastics project was launched.

The aim of this project is to push for the reuse of plastic items through the collection and recycling of plastic waste, hence, curbing plastic pollution in Rwanda. 

This project is designed for a five-year stretch and is monitored by Rwanda Environment Management Authority and the Private Sector Federation. The project was divided into three parts; the first was to establish a mechanism for collecting, transporting, and recycling single-use plastics. The second was to get funds for the project and the third was to create awareness, conduct research and disseminate. During the initiation phase, PSF was set to mobilize Rwf690.6 million from private institutions to collect, transport, dispose of, and recycle single-use plastics.

PSF CEO, Stephen Ruzibiza said “Almost three years since the project was launched, over 500 tonnes of single-use plastics have been collected in different districts nationwide. The project was developed to enhance current practices in plastic waste management, focusing on improving existing infrastructures.”

Enviroserve Rwanda Green Park, the company hired to collect and recycle single-use plastics throughout the project’s run, is dedicated to electronic and electrical waste recycling, green growth, and the circular economy, and currently collects and recycles single-use plastic.

In 2019, the country enacted Law 17/2019, prohibiting the manufacturing, importing, and using of plastic carry bags and single-use items. So far, PSF has mobilized 50 percent of the targeted funds from private institutions. REMA hopes to eliminate single-use plastics from the Rwandan landscape through the project.

Rwanda has plans to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 38% come 2030. According to the 2018 UN Environment Report on Single-Used Plastics, only 9% of the over 400 million tonnes of plastic produced around the world each year is recycled.

This project carried on by the country of Rwanda will help preserve the environment and conserve the ecosystem.