Waste Recovery Innovation Challenge

The Waste Recovery Innovation Challenge (WRIC – Winners)

 

As with many urbanizing economies, Ghana’s municipalities face significant challenges with solid waste management. Under-utilized and un-managed waste materials pose a serious risk to the environment and human health, with the greatest negative impact felt by the most vulnerable in society. When connections – pathways and avenues – are created and known, waste materials can journey from where they are not needed, to where there is a need, creating economies and livelihoods. Waste materials can be used in replacement for new materials, preserving our natural resources and slowing climate change. The activity of assisting waste on its journey to a valuable resource can create millions of good jobs across society, especially for marginalized citizens.

 

It is against this background that UNDP is facilitating the creation of a digitally enabled ‘Waste’ Recovery Platform to connect key stakeholders with data and technological solutions for resource recovery. This is expected to: facilitate more cost-effective and transparent access to ready data for evidence-based planning by policymakers on sanitation management; enhance access to knowledge on best available technologies on waste valorisation; make it easier to find/link to solution providers and off-takers; stimulate further research and innovation on waste valorisation in relation to emerging demand and options; and build the capacity of key personnel (local government, private sector, NGOs and Academia) to enhance sanitation management particularly at the decentralized level.

 

Under the Platform, the ‘Waste’ Recovery Innovation Challenge (WRIC) was launched to provide technical and financial support to business, research and advocacy projects promote and/or test innovative solutions for waste recovery or waste reduction/avoidance. This is an annual activity that is expected to be implemented once resources are available. The first edition was implemented in 2019 and the second edition in 2020.

 

The projects being supported under the WRIC fall under three categories:

  • Private sector/businesses: Providing a sustainable solution to an existing waste management challenge in a specific area; demonstrating the potential to be bankable and scalable; having the potential to create employment.
  • Research: Investigating innovative ways and scientific breakthroughs in waste recovery, results of which can be turned into a bankable and scalable business proposal.
  • Advocacy/awareness creation: Promoting the concept of resource recovery and its opportunities in Ghana in a circular economy context.

The Waste Recovery Innovation Challenges implementation process can be downloaded here

West African Feeds
This project seeks to create economic value by eliminating unsafe methods of organic waste disposal within water bodies, street corners and areas outside of Accra. Partnerships with local waste collectors, municipalities, and community youth ensure organic waste is acquired from households, faecal storage tanks, restaurants, breweries, and market centers which is used as organic material [...]
Loo Works
The project aims at manufacturing container-based toilet solutions from Wood Plastic Composite by transforming plastic waste and sawdust to sturdy construction material to make panels for container-based toilet structures and biological digesters. The launch of the local manufacturing activities enables the provision of more jobs and benefits to the local community. Through partnerships, the project [...]
Alchemy Alternate Energy
The project seeks to process waste plastic, tyres, and waste oils, which are recycled into RFO and has the capacity to and now further refine RFO1 into other higher-grade fuel oils which have a higher market value. The project provides a guaranteed market to waste aggregators who work directly with vulnerable community members in the [...]
Coliba
This project seeks to deliver access to recycling services to inner and poor communities through the aggregators' program rolled out in coastal communities due to huge plastic waste pollution at shores. The project also extends recycling access to high- and middle-income homes through the extension of recycling centres bringing recycling centres closer and more accessible [...]
Nelplast ECO Ghana Limited
The project converts plastic wastes into useful building materials like building interlock pavement slabs and paving tiles, which effectively reduce environmental pollution and further decreases the problem of waste plastics in Ghana. Using both the print and electronic media the organization educates the populace on the effects of indiscriminate littering of plastic wastes, sensitizing the [...]
Neat Eco Feeds Ltd
The project involves collecting and recycling waste to suitable substrates to produce maggots and compost. The maggots are affordable, green and have sustainably high protein feed for fish, poultry birds and keets. Maggots’ feed serves as a perfect replacement for current orthodox protein product offering in the market and the farmer makes an economic gain [...]