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A collaborative approach

In a collaborative approach, SST is using waste as the lens, marine pollution as the impact we want to mitigate against, and African coastal communities as the focal point of interactions between land and ocean.

Strategies for success

Sustainable Seas Trust’s (SST) drive towards realising short- to medium-term goals is key to realising sustainable and meaningful long-term outcomes. We ensure policies, legislation, institutions, and behaviours are aligned with sustainable waste management principles. Our strategies support sustainable waste management in partner communities across Africa.

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Support and partner

Partner with multilateral and regional bodies to assist with good governance, advocate for sustainable waste management approaches, and support governments at all levels to champion sustainable waste management principles.

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Collaborate and engage

Work with businesses to transform their waste generation practices, support local recycling initiatives, and engage with local communities to identify opportunities for income generation through recycling.

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Educate and inspire

Foster change in attitude and behaviour of all people for responsible consumption and a sustainable waste economy.

How we’re making an impact

What we're learning
What we’re teaching
Where we’re helping
How we’re working

Take an in depth look at our impact portfolios

We’ve developed 4 powerful impact portfolios to operationalise our interventions, which we underpin with 2 portfolios for internal governance.

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Research, development and monitoring

Knowledge is the key to taking action

Well-structured, high-quality research programmes generate comprehensive understanding of the challenges impacting sustainable waste management in identified coastal communities. Our stakeholders are key, and through our African Network Map, we’re able to identify potential partnership opportunities for collaborative development towards sustainable waste management.

We also design all our interventions when it comes to training, skills transfer, capacity building, community upliftment and enterprise development. This includes direct strategic guidance and advice across the packaging value chain, on a national and regional level, to mitigate and eliminate waste in the environment and support sustainable waste management. Informed impact reporting gives us the tools we need to understand whether our interventions are effective and have had the desired impact.

Education and capacity building

Changing behavior through learning

To facilitate meaningful change, we need to start from the ground up.
We design and develop appropriate and relevant high-quality educational resources for implementation, at scale, across Africa to support sustainable development and waste management across the packaging value chain. Our unique e-learning platform, the African Waste Academy, is the first of its kind on the continent. It’s an active platform for collaboration, resource and knowledge sharing, capacity building and support for mitigating marine pollution challenges across Africa.

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Community upliftment and enterprise development

Upskilling, inspiring and empowering

We work collaboratively with communities to upskill and empower identified SMMEs and informal collectors operating in the recycling and waste sector, equipping local authorities to support sustainable waste management behaviour in their communities, and supporting local businesses in the packaging value chain to reduce waste generation.
In addition, we capacitate local communities to value and care for the ocean through the development of a deep love and appreciation for the ocean. In this way, we work to support coastal communities to mitigate the impact of marine pollution while working with them to create sustainable income-generating opportunities for themselves.

Strategic stakeholder engagement

Partnering for Africa’s future

We provide an enriching and collaborative membership experience with tools like the African Network Map, an interactive mapping platform that connects waste research and management role-players across the different sectors of the packaging value chain. We have also initiated an integrated community clean-up programme in South Africa (initially launched in Nelson Mandela Bay, South Africa) called Operation Clean Spot. This initiative allows us to gather measurable results and is a programme that will help develop design principles for a cohesive approach towards waste management across stakeholder groups in the packaging value chain. Our aim is that these principles can, in partnership with others, be replicated and scaled across Africa.

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Business development and strategy

The blue economy starts with all of us

To do the work, we need a working and stable financial strategy that is secure and diversified. The key to success for any charitable trust or NGO is existing support as well as unlocking additional financial growth through grants, donations, sponsorships, and other philanthropic contributions that will enable us to achieve the goals we’ve set out to do.

We have a clear business development strategy when it comes to our
top priorities and goals so that we can organise our limited resources and budgets well, strengthen our operations and processes, and establish a clear pathway to success. We save time, money and make the most of our resources by clearly defining what we want to focus on, achieve and what our short-term to long-term goals are as an organisation. With a clear vision, more efficient processes and realistic expectations, improved results are achievable with this strategic plan in place.

Legal and risk management

We’re always above board

We’re not just about mitigating waste, we’re about mitigating risk. Transparency is key as well as having the right team in place to identify, evaluate, prioritise and address risks, which is critical for our survival. SST’s Legal and Risk Management portfolio is responsible for managing legal, political, economic and social risk.

SST’s team provides sound legal advice upholding our values as a good and fair employer and ensures appropriate employee relations, contract management, and that we remain compliant to legal standards and requirements of the countries we operate within. This is complemented by effective structuring and implementation of processes related to sound financial governance and compliance, Human Resources, BBBEE and Facilities Management to meet operational needs.

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Reach out and let’s enable the blue economy together.

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This category includes various tiers of governance responsible for policymaking, implementation, and oversight. It comprises:

  • National government, which governs at the highest level of a state,
  • Provincial/Regional authorities that manage sub-national jurisdictions,
  • Local municipalities with elected community representatives for a specific country or district, and
  • Government agencies or institutions, such as environmental departments or authorities, that implement mandates in specific sectors or fields of study.

These are entities formed through collaboration between multiple countries or states to address regional or international concerns. These include:

  • International multilateral organisations created by treaties between two or more nations working towards issues of common interest
  • Regional Economic Bodies that facilitate economic integration in specific African regions,
  • River Basin Commissions managing shared water resources, and
  • Regional Conventions, which are legally binding agreements among states in a region to promote and help localised international standards.

This category includes institutions and academic bodies that generate scientific knowledge and conduct studies related to marine, environmental, or plastic pollution issues. It includes:

  • Research institutes, which are to establish to conduct research
  • Universities, which combine education and academic research at an advanced level.

This category encompasses learning institutions and youth-focused networks that promote environmental awareness and leadership. It includes:

  • Schools for formal education of children
  • Youth networks that represent young people between the ages of 7 and 35, and
  • Youth groups, communities and associations which are informal or formal and focused on empowering youth.

Civil society includes non-state, nonprofit groups active in advocacy, service delivery, or community development. Subcategories include:

  • Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) operating independently from government,
  • Non-Profit Organisations (NPOs) committed to specific social or environmental causes,
  • Community-Based Organizations (CBOs) embedded in and serving local communities or significant segments,
  • Charity Groups focusing on philanthropy and social well-being, and
  • Facilitation Agencies that coordinate or distribute services among approved charitable, non-profit making preferred sources.

This sector represents the structured business actors in the plastic value chain, from production to retail. It includes:

  • Importers (such as a country, business or person) buy raw materials or products from another country for use in their own country.
  • Raw material producers provide materials for converters and manufacturers and can include virgin or recycled materials.
  • Converters blending materials (virgin or recyclate) and additives into formulated feedstock.
  • Brand owners who are the owners of a product or service, and retailers, such as FMCG companies that distribute goods.

These are organised and legally recognised entities involved in the collection, processing, and sorting of waste. Types include:

  • Waste logistics companies responsible for transporting and collecting waste and material recovery facilities,
  • Waste processors/recyclers are large scale entities that process waste into secondary raw materials or products,
  • Buy-back centres where recyclables are exchanged for money, and
  • Drop-off sites where recyclables are deposited for disposal or further processing.

This category consists of non-formalised individuals or groups engaged in waste collection and recycling, often for income. It includes:

  • Waste pickers, who collect reusable and recyclable materials independently to either sell on or use for personal consumption,
  • Cooperatives, collectively run collection operation,
  • Informal sector associations that support and represent the informal sector.

This category includes collaborative platforms and representative bodies that promote sector-wide coordination. It consists of:

  • FMCG associations working with brand owners and retailers in circularity,
  • Plastic industry associations represent the entire value chain of plastics, regionally or nationally to drive innovation, technology, and policy,
  • Pacts and networks foster joint commitments and agreements through group or connected systems,
  • Producer Responsibility Organisations (PROs) are collecting entities set up by the obliged companies or legislation, responsible for waste-related obligations of the obliged companies and assisting with managing collective waste obligations under Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) laws.

This category includes organisations and groups that actively work to protect natural ecosystems and biodiversity, both on land and at sea. It encompasses:

  • Environmental organizations/groups that seek to protect, analyse or monitor the environment against misuse or degradation from human forces,
  • Nature reserves are tract of land managed for the preservation of its flora, fauna and physical features,
  • Marine conservation organizations focusing on ocean ecosystems, and
  • Clean-up groups engaging in direct action to clean up the environment.

This category refers to entities specializing in the manufacturing, filling and selling bottles containing products such as water, beverages, and cleaning agents for commercial distribution. Bottlers are typically part of the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) industry and play a significant role in the packaging value chain. They may:

  • Work independently or be linked to brand owners,
  • Rely on imported or locally produced containers,
  • Have obligations under Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) schemes to manage their post-consumer waste.

This category includes designated locations where waste is deposited, buried, or left in open land. These sights are typically government owned and operated. It consists of:

  • Formal landfill sites, which are engineered and monitored for environmental compliance,
  • These sites are critical points in the waste management system, affecting land use, pollution levels, and the recovery potential of materials,
  • They are often connected to both the formal waste sector (e.g., municipal services) and informal waste collectors who retrieve recyclables from them.