Bringing EPR to Southern Africa

On a joint quest to boost the circular economy worldwide

On 23 February, Landbell Group’s COO for Africa, Asia and Latin America, Christophe Pautrat, delivered a speech at the “Implementation of Circular Economy regulations in the SADC region” conference.

The conference was organised jointly by EU Africa RISE, the SADC Business Council, and Coca-Cola Beverages Africa.

The Southern African Development Community (SADC) promotes socio-economic cooperation and integration among 16 countries in the region, ranging from Angola to Zimbabwe.

The event’s participants discussed operational implementation of extended producer responsibility (EPR) in the SADC countries, in particular the required legal, technical, human, and financial resources. The goal is to establish a joint, public and private, solution to boost the circular economy in the region.

Christophe shared his experience in operational EPR implementation. He analysed factors behind the most successful EPR systems around the globe, including regulatory frameworks, quantitative targets, segregated waste collections, recycling infrastructure, and clear system financing.

He also outlined basic steps to introduce EPR, expectations from stakeholders, and discussed examples of targets. His presentation concluded with a focus on the main role and activities of producer responsibility organisations (PROs).

The conference took place in Lusaka, Zambia, on 22-23 February 2023. It was attended by members of the Zambia government, representatives from the public and private sectors, development agencies, the European Union, academia, and other regional bodies.

For more information, please visit the SADC website.