{"id":4470,"date":"2019-08-09T09:47:36","date_gmt":"2019-08-09T06:47:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/africasustainabilitymatters.com\/?p=4470"},"modified":"2026-01-11T05:30:28","modified_gmt":"2026-01-11T05:30:28","slug":"rwanda-keen-on-cutting-waste-to-zero","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rayscohosting.best\/ASM\/2019\/08\/09\/rwanda-keen-on-cutting-waste-to-zero\/","title":{"rendered":"Rwanda Keen On Cutting Waste To Zero"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By <\/em><\/strong>Times Reporter<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rwanda\u2019s environment protection efforts have the potential to transform it from a linear to a circular economy, characterized by minimal industrial waste as well as resource efficiency, officials have said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They were speaking on\nThursday at the national circular economy forum that brought together experts\nfrom the industry and environment sectors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The gathering discussed\nstrategies of advancing a circular economy also known as zero waste economy,\nwhich is characterized by extracting the most value possible from all kinds of\nresources. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Such a system, experts say,\nminimizes natural resource use, waste, emissions, and energy by closing energy\nand materials loops. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Participants were tipped on\nhow the principles of the circular economy including long-lasting product\ndesign, maintenance, repair, reuse, remanufacturing refurbishing as well as\nrecycling, can help to boost profits and make business more competitive. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Dr Vincent\nBiruta, the Minister of Environment, Rwanda has been working to align its economic\ntransformation with environmental protection and conservation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cToo often, these are seen as\nconflicting objectives,\u201d he said. \u201cFortunately, we now understand that\nsustainable economic growth is only possible with a strong environmental\nfoundation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Minister said that the\ncountry\u2019s Green Growth and Climate Resilience Strategy is guiding Rwanda to\nbecome a developed, low carbon economy by 2050.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSuch a goal is only\nachievable if local industries produce in a way that is not only sustainable,\nbut improves environmental outcomes for both people and the planet,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Minister also stressed\nthe need for industries and businesses to integrate the circular economy into\ntheir operations, rather than continue with the current \u2018take, make, dispose\u2019\nmodel of consumption. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn the linear economy we\nextract resources, turn them into products and then throw them into landfill at\nthe end of their life. In a circular economy, all of the resources are re-used\neither by having long-lasting products, repairing and sharing products, or\nrecycling materials,\u201d Biruta said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He noted that the circular\neconomy has the potential to create jobs, increase economic growth and increase\nliving standards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He added that an estimated\n3.4 million people are already employed in circular economy jobs such as\nrepair, waste recycling, and the rental and leasing sectors across the European\nUnion (EU), as well as huge numbers across Africa, with great potential for\nexpansion. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn many places around the\nworld, including in Rwanda, the circular economy operates as an informal\neconomy. Our task now is to scale up existing circular economy initiatives and\ndevelop new ones,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He cited initiatives such as\nthe e-waste dismantling and recycling facility in Bugesera District,\nride-sharing apps, construction materials made from recycled agriculture waste,\nplastic recycling, water reuse and refurbishing electronic equipment, among\nothers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Minister also spoke about\nhow Rwanda\u2019s ban on polythene packaging materials more than a decade ago and\nthe recent decision to phase out single-use plastics are supporting the move to\na circular economy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe ban on polythene\npackaging created new circular business opportunities and we hope the same will\nbe true as we transition to alternatives to single-use plastics,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe need to identify existing\nsmall scale, innovative initiatives and invest in them and connect local\nbusinesses to global leaders so they can access the best technology and the\nlatest insights,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Minister said the\ngovernment recently established the Cleaner Production and Climate Innovation\nCentre, which is hosted under National Industrial Research and Development\nAgency (NIRDA).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The center will be a one-stop\ncenter of excellence which provides and promotes access to cutting edge and\nmodern green technologies as well as business services for enhanced\nproductivity, advancing the circular economy, and boosting climate resilience,\ncompetitiveness and environmental compliance. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Olivier Kamana,\nHead of Applied Research at NIRDA, the circular economy should be integrated\ninto all sectors and industries to boost productivity and profits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe have to promote a\ncircular economy as it is imperative for businesses to survive and thrive. We\nare ready at NIRDA to support industries to promote the circular economy,\u201d\nKamana said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Role of private sector<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Coletha Ruhamya,\nDirector General of Rwanda Environment Management Authority, the private sector\nstands to gain from being part of the fight against plastic pollution and\npromoting the circular economy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere are many opportunities\nfor the private sector in the circular economy and we welcome the many\ncompanies who are already taking up their responsibility, fighting single-use\nplastics and making the shift to the circular economy,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cInvesting in reusable\nalternatives like water dispensers, jugs and glasses is not only good for the\nenvironment but also cost effective,\u201d she added.\n\nRead original\narticle<\/a> on The New times<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Times Reporter Rwanda\u2019s environment protection efforts have the potential to transform it from a linear to a circular economy, characterized by minimal industrial waste as well as resource efficiency,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":4471,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"","pagelayer_contact_templates":[],"_pagelayer_content":"","_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[101],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4470","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-international-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rayscohosting.best\/ASM\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4470","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rayscohosting.best\/ASM\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rayscohosting.best\/ASM\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rayscohosting.best\/ASM\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rayscohosting.best\/ASM\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4470"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/rayscohosting.best\/ASM\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4470\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rayscohosting.best\/ASM\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4471"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rayscohosting.best\/ASM\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4470"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rayscohosting.best\/ASM\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4470"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rayscohosting.best\/ASM\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4470"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}