How the waste success story began
It all started with garbage floating around in a refugee camp in Ethiopia. Now, Norwegian Church Aid's innovative “Waste for Value” project has become a success that has been replicated in several countries.
Bekalu Dagne Agize works at the Norwegian Church Aid office in Ethiopia. The Waste for Value project started here in Gambella in Ethiopia.
“It started when we saw that all the garbage in the camp was a problem. Much of it was brought here by aid organizations to help the people, but at the same time it created an environmental issue,” says Bekalu Dagne Agize at the Norwegian Church Aid office in Ethiopia.
We are in the Jewi refugee camp in Gambella, Ethiopia, not far from the border with South Sudan.
Here, in 2019, Norwegian Church Aid launched what would become known as the Waste for Value concept, which has become a success reaching far beyond Ethiopia.
The project has now been replicated in several places in Ethiopia and in Pakistan, Tanzania, and Lebanon.
Lasting income
Piles of garbage collected by refugees in the camp lies around us: plastic jerrycans, metal cans, broken plastic chairs, and other debris.
This is how the Waste for Value project works: participants collect waste, which is then sold and recycled, providing them with income.
“We wanted to do more than just protecting the environment. We wanted to create lasting income for those who live here. The refugees had nothing; they left everything behind when they fled from South Sudan,” says Bekalu Dagne Agize.
“We saw that this could become something positive.”
Norwegian Church Aid organized groups of volunteers who wanted to participate – not only inside the camp but also among local residents in the host community outside the camp.
“When the refugees arrived, there were tensions between them and the locals. The locals saw the refugees as a burden. This and similar projects have become a bridge between the two groups, since the refugees sell the collected waste to the host community. They sit down and cooperate,” explains Bekalu Dagne Agize.
Once a certain amount of waste is collected, it is sold to local buyers in the host community outside the camp, who then sell it on to recycling companies in the capital, Addis Ababa. The collectors earn income based on how much they have gathered.
Changes people’s lives
Plastic and metal scraps left on the ground not only created an unpleasant environment but also polluted the soil.
“Collecting waste contributes to better health, environment, and economy. We are creating a circular economy where refugees here collect waste, sell it to buyers in the host community, who then sell it to recycling companies. These companies in turn produce products that sometimes come back here, so it’s a circular economy” says Bekalu Dagne Agize.
Nyaluak Bang is one of the participants. She is 38 years old and a single mother of five children.
“This has given me income to buy food, clothes, and school supplies for my children. I have also used money to start a cafeteria,” she says.
More than 250,000 kilos of waste have been collected and recycled over the years in this area.
“I am proud of everything our team is doing here. We see changes in the environment and in people’s lives. It truly feels good,” says Bekalu Dagne Agize.
