Corporate recycling pledges sound impressive. The results are harder to see
By Our Staff Writer
In late 2024, Unilever Nigeria announced that it had achieved something its global parent company had long promised but struggled to deliver. After a decade partnering with Wecyclers, the company had collected more plastic waste than it put into the market, recovering more than 13,000 tonnes in total. It was widely celebrated as a milestone in Africa’s battle against plastic pollution. Yet only months later, in coastal communities along the Gulf of Guinea, waste pickers continued to sift through mountains of discarded sachets and bottles that block drainage channels and increase the risk of flooding. The contrast reveals the central tension in corporate plastic commitments. Progress exists, but systemic change remains far more elusive.
Africa generates roughly 17 million tonnes of plastic waste each year, with less than 10 per cent recycled. Increasingly, the continent has become a proving ground for corporate sustainability pledges as regulators, investors and consumers demand genuine action. The question is no longer whether companies should reduce plastic. It is whether their commitments translate into measurable environmental outcomes.
When promises meet reality
The gap between ambition and execution has grown too large to ignore. The Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s Global Commitment report shows that although progress is possible, the world remains significantly off track. Five years after 500 organisations representing one fifth of global plastic packaging committed to circular economy goals, the share of recyclable, reusable or compostable packaging among brand and retail signatories had increased by only two percentage points.
Unilever itself revised its goals in 2024. The company shifted from a planned 50 per cent reduction in virgin plastic by 2025 to 30 per cent by 2026 and 40 per cent by 2028. It acknowledged that the original targets were not feasible under current technological and infrastructural conditions. Reducing virgin plastic remains one of the most effective pathways to curb pollution at its source, but achieving this requires greater innovation, more investment and accelerated systems change.
Such revisions are not unique. Companies often announce bold targets at global conferences only to quietly adjust them as deadlines loom. Critics describe this as greenrinsing, meaning the continual resetting of sustainability commitments without fundamental progress. Yet not all corporate activity amounts to greenwashing. Several initiatives across Africa demonstrate tangible outcomes at scale.
Africa as a laboratory for circularity
Since 2019, the Alliance to End Plastic Waste and its partners have reduced more than 239,000 tonnes of unmanaged plastic waste and valorised over 253,000 tonnes. Verified projects in Southern and West Africa have created more than 2,100 formal jobs while diverting significant waste from landfills.
In Nigeria, Nestlé has supported the diversion of more than 61,000 tonnes of plastic waste through partnerships with recyclers and social enterprises such as Wecyclers, Chanja Datti and Maladase Ecopreneur Management Limited. Its Plastic Advantage Programme has provided technical and financial support to dozens of mini-aggregators, generating income for thousands of informal waste pickers.
These partnerships matter because waste management systems in African markets differ fundamentally from those in high-income countries. Informal waste pickers collect about 60 per cent of recyclable material in many emerging economies, often without protective equipment or legal recognition. Nestlé’s 2024 Safety, Health and Environment training programme supported waste collectors in several Nigerian states, underscoring the importance of addressing the human dimension of sustainability.
One of the clearest models of regulatory progress is found in South Africa’s extended producer responsibility framework under the National Environmental Waste Act. The legislation, implemented in 2021, obliges producers and importers to pay fees per tonne of packaging introduced into the market, creating incentives to reduce packaging and improve recyclability.
Kenya has introduced even more comprehensive rules. The Sustainable Waste Management (Extended Producer Responsibility) Regulations, effective from late 2024, require producers, importers and brand owners to manage the full life cycle of their products. Companies must register with the National Environment Management Authority by May 2025 or face removal from the market.
The infrastructure deficit
Policy frameworks alone cannot resolve plastic pollution if waste collection remains inadequate. Kenya produces between 3,000 and 4,000 tonnes of waste per day, with up to 30 per cent consisting of plastics, paper and metals. Yet only around 5 per cent of plastics are recycled because of limited infrastructure and low public awareness.
Nigeria faces an even more acute infrastructure challenge. The country generates roughly 1.5 million tonnes of plastic waste annually, with less than 30 per cent collected for recycling. Implementation guidelines for a national plastic waste management policy were released in 2025, but enforcement capacity remains thin.
This infrastructure gap explains why many corporate commitments struggle to deliver results. A brand can redesign packaging to be technically recyclable, but without reliable collection systems or sufficient processing capacity, the material still ends up in dumpsites or waterways. Extended producer responsibility is necessary but not sufficient. It must be accompanied by measures such as eliminating unnecessary plastic products, strengthening product design standards and expanding waste management infrastructure.
Producer responsibility organisations attempt to bridge these gaps. In Nigeria, the Food and Beverage Recycling Alliance helps companies manage post-consumer packaging and has shaped national policy. Yet even successful PROs face challenges. For example, Kenya’s flat 150 shilling fee on imported secondary packaging could raise production costs and be passed on to consumers, potentially undermining public support.
The measurement problem
The absence of standardised metrics is perhaps the greatest challenge in assessing corporate progress. Companies report plastic reduction using inconsistent baselines and definitions, making comparisons nearly impossible.
Unilever reports that 57 per cent of its plastic packaging is technically recyclable, reusable or compostable. Yet only 13 per cent of its flexible packaging meets this standard. Technical recyclability does not reflect actual recycling rates, especially in markets where infrastructure is scarce.
This distinction is critical in many African contexts. A bottle engineered for recyclability in Europe has little environmental benefit if the region where it is sold lacks a functioning collection system.
Some companies, however, have made measurable commitments. Bio Foods has pledged to adopt 50 per cent recycled PET by 2026. Bidco Africa has removed colour from beverage packaging to improve recyclability under the Kenya Plastics Pact. These specific, quantifiable commitments differ significantly from broad corporate aspirations.
The treaty imperative
In 2022, the United Nations Environmental Assembly adopted a resolution establishing a pathway for a global treaty to end plastic pollution. More than 175 countries support the process. However, negotiations have exposed deep divisions between producing and consuming nations and between developed and developing economies.
African countries have united through the African Group of Negotiators on plastic pollution. The group calls for national action roadmaps, increased financial investment and robust producer responsibility systems. African negotiators emphasise that without adequate funding for infrastructure and technology transfer, meeting treaty obligations will be difficult.
A global treaty offers an opportunity to harmonise standards and prevent companies from meeting sustainability targets in one region while maintaining harmful practices in another.
What works and what does not
Several principles distinguish genuine progress from symbolic commitments.
Specificity matters. Companies should adopt absolute reduction targets rather than intensity-based metrics. Local context matters as well. Solutions that succeed in one market may not be suitable elsewhere. Interventions that strengthen existing waste ecosystems tend to outperform imported models.
Inclusivity is essential. Initiatives that integrate and support informal waste pickers record higher collection rates than those that bypass them. Transparency is equally important. Companies should disclose actual recycling outcomes by market rather than relying on general recyclability figures.
Experimentation also matters. Since 2018, Unilever has piloted more than 50 refill and reuse initiatives. Not all were successful, but they provided insights that guide long-term strategy more reliably than headline announcements.
The next frontier
Regulatory harmonisation across African markets would reduce compliance costs and create more predictable environments for investment. Technological innovation is needed for flexible packaging, especially for products traditionally sold in plastic sachets.
Financing models must evolve. Blended finance initiatives, such as the funding catalysed by the Alliance to End Plastic Waste, demonstrate how innovative financial instruments can unlock large-scale investment. Consumer behaviour change is another critical area. Kenya’s colour-coded waste sorting system, introduced in 2025, aims to enforce segregation at source. Such policies succeed only when supported by strong public awareness and accessible collection systems.
A moment of reckoning
A 90 million dollar regional initiative aims to reduce toxic chemicals in plastic-containing products across several African countries. The plastic pollution crisis has reached a point where incremental progress is no longer enough. Corporate commitments remain essential, but their value depends on rigorous measurement and honest reporting. Companies must invest in infrastructure, support informal workers and accept that meaningful change requires time.
For African markets, the challenge is twofold. Prevent new waste from accumulating and address the legacy pollution already present. Success will require unprecedented cooperation across governments, companies, civil society and communities.
The question facing businesses today is not whether to commit to plastic reduction. That debate has ended. The question is whether their commitments can withstand scrutiny when evaluated against real environmental outcomes.
The new era of measurement has begun. Companies that embrace transparency and standardised reporting will demonstrate leadership. Those that reset targets without delivering real change risk losing credibility as stakeholders become more discerning. Africa offers enormous opportunities for circular innovation, but only if commitments translate into infrastructure, livelihoods and measurably cleaner environments.
