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Reimagining plastics – from waste to value
Dow has invested in Kenya’s Mr. Green Africa to enable further diversion of plastic waste from informal dumpsites and the environment. The investment will also drive positive change among communities, address inadequacies in existing waste management systems and close the loop on plastics waste across Africa.
For Dow, this investment is the first of its kind on the African continent. It is expected to enable approximately 90 kilotonnes of plastic waste to be recovered over four years and recycled into new packaging applications. With the support from Dow and other investors, Mr. Green Africa plans to expand its Kenyan operations to other countries in Africa, further extending the capabilities of its recycling efforts across the continent. Dow and Mr. Green Africa also aim to co-develop more traceable, fair, high-quality post-consumer recyclate (PCR) that can be used in the production of new flexible plastic packaging – helping brand owners and other plastic manufacturers achieve their goals regarding sustainable packaging solutions in Africa.
At full scale, the investment is expected to create approximately 200 more direct jobs, impact the lives of 5 000 waste pickers and engage more than 250 000 consumers in separation-at-source programmes.
Did you know?
Mr. Green Africa is the first recycling company on the continent to be a Certified B Corporation. These are businesses that do more than make a profit. Certified B Corporations prioritise people and the planet in everything they do.
Addressing Africa’s waste challenges
Mr. Green Africa converts plastic waste collected in Kenya into high-quality PCR, which is then sold as a substitute for imported virgin plastics to help close the loop on plastic waste. The recycling company works closely with brand owners and third-party manufacturers of plastics to access ethically-sourced, locally-produced PCR, and supports companies in meeting their sustainability targets.
Marco ten Bruggencate, Dow’s commercial vice president for packaging and specialty plastics for EMEA, said: “Our partnership with Mr. Green Africa is testament to Dow’s commitment to play our part in solving the plastics waste issue in Africa, where waste collection and sorting are a real challenge.
We are delighted to announce this milestone in our continued collaboration with the recycling company which will enable us to have an even greater impact on diverting plastic waste from landfill and giving this valuable material a second life. We’re fully committed to advancing the circular economy for plastics in Africa and the rest of the world in order to mitigate the negative impacts of environmental degradation, in line with our global sustainability goals.”
Focused on flexible packaging
The partnership between Dow and Mr. Green Africa began in November 2019 in Kenya and was specifically established to drive the collection and recycling of flexible packaging, which was not supported by existing systems. Since then, Dow has invested into the partnership to prevent flexible packaging from ending up in landfill or the environment, supporting communities by incentivising waste collection and enabling a market for flexible plastic packaging to be created.
By incentivising waste pickers with a higher, stable income through a fair-trade plastic waste sourcing model, establishing sorting centres that allow them to bring in plastic waste for payment, and then enabling this waste to be processed in recycling centres, the partnership is expected to make material recovery significantly more effective in the region.
Dow has also supported the development of an app through which communities in Kenya can sort and separate the plastic waste in their homes more efficiently. They can also use the app to schedule waste collection for it to be processed through the plastic recycling system by Mr. Green Africa.
Advancing the use of recycled content in packaging
Dow and the technology start-up and proprietor of an advanced recycling technology, Plastogaz, have announced a strategic investment. This will help to simplify the process of converting plastic waste to feedstock. It will also provide another carbon-efficient option to keep plastic waste out of landfills and the environment. The collaboration marks another milestone in Dow’s ongoing mission to protect the environment and close the loop on plastic waste. Dow will bring global reach and materials science expertise to further develop technologies with smaller innovative companies such as Plastogaz. These companies are developing circular feedstock for plastics required by global brands in order to eliminate plastic waste from their value chains and address the plastic waste crisis.
Changing recycling in a systematic way
Keiran Smith, CEO and co-founder of Mr. Green Africa, comments: “If we want to make a lasting difference and systemic change in solving one of the world’s biggest challenges, we need to work with like-minded and relevant value chain partners. Mr. Green Africa has been able to lay a solid foundation. However, with a vision-aligned partner like Dow, we will be able to advance towards changing recycling in a systematic way.”
Adwoa Coleman, Dow’s Africa sustainability and advocacy manager for packaging and specialty plastics, adds: “The challenge of plastic waste in Africa is a significant and growing problem. As a leading materials science company, Dow is in the driver’s seat to make a measurable impact and help to close the loop on plastic waste. Across Africa, many livelihoods depend on recovering waste materials like plastic, but the benefit of this activity is only supported if there is end-value for the material. This is why we are particularly proud to be taking our work with Mr. Green Africa to the next level. Through this investment, Dow will directly tackle the inadequacies in Kenya’s waste management systems for the first time. Collaborations such as this are incredibly important for Dow, because alongside our industry partners, we can tackle the all-important plastic waste challenge, create a market for flexibles and support reclaimers to access an additional income stream from previously uncollected material.”
The investment was structured and led by Dow Venture Capital, which is focused on pursuing strategic investments in innovative start-up companies. These start-ups enable and accelerate Dow’s business growth and value. •
Mr. Green employees arrange sorted plastic at aggregation centres ready for processing
Mr. Green employees sort collected plastic at aggregation centres so they can be collected for processing
