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What we’re teaching

Changing behaviour through education and equipping people across Africa with the skills and knowledge they need to enable the blue economy.

Educating to enable

A seasoned approach to the blue economy requires knowledge. The key to a thriving blue economy lies in developing relevant, high-quality educational resources for use across Africa, in support of sustainable development and waste management. Our unique e-learning platform, the African Waste Academy, is the first of its kind on the continent. It serves as an active hub for collaboration, resource and knowledge sharing, capacity building and support, all aimed at mitigating marine pollution challenges across Africa.

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Our top-class performances

By enabling and educating, here’s what we’ve achieved over four years.

The African Waste Academy

The African Waste Academy offers online training courses and supplementary resources for the people of Africa and beyond to support sustainable waste management and anti-littering initiatives.

Curriculum-aligned resources and school programmes

We have developed and tested curriculum-aligned resources and educational programmes that tackle the issue of plastic waste in schools and communities.

Curriculum-aligned resources for educators

These resources have been tailored to align with the curricula of seven Western Indian Ocean countries, enabling teachers to integrate educational content about plastic pollution into their classrooms. The material is also available as an online course for educators.

African Waste Academy

Enabling Africa through e-learning

The African Waste Academy (AWA) is a far-reaching, e-learning initiative that shares skills, knowledge, and ideas across Africa to the blue economy. Well-developed education programmes and learning facilities are easily accessible, meeting the requirements of multiple sectors – educators, learners, researchers, businesspeople, industry experts and provincial and national government across Africa. In addition, the AWA coordinates student and expert exchanges between Africa and other continents, promoting skills transfer and hosting external scholarships, fellowships, as well as internships.

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African Youth Network

A generation that can create change

The African Youth Network is a dynamic platform that facilitates collaboration, resource development, and knowledge sharing among the youth within and across countries. The African Youth Network is on a mission to achieve ‘Zero Waste to the Seas of Africa’. We want healthier and cleaner oceans, and we need collaborative, creative, enthusiastic bright minds to realise this goal.

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Education on all levels

Marine waste education

We develop curriculum-aligned educational materials and books to equip educators in teaching learners about marine waste.

Education Reference Book: A Guide to Plastics and their Management

The A to Z of plastics, from raw materials to final product and after-use processes. It also includes the roles of producers, distributors, retailers, consumers and municipalities in the plastic lifecycle.

Download the Plastic-Free Seas Guidebook
Accessible e-learning across Africa

Our African Waste Academy offers online access to a range of tools and educational resources.

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Resource material

We share research documents, publications, and guidebooks to mitigate plastic waste.

View all resources
The Guidebook to Developing National and Regional Action Plans for the Management of Plastics in Africa

Outlines steps needed to mitigate waste at all stages of the plastics value chain.

View the African Resource Book Series

Be a part of the African Waste Academy for Africa’s seas

We’re looking for like-minded people to upskill and be a part of creating a flourishing blue economy for Africa.

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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.