PET collection & baling — Ethiopia · Photo: Joe Sunday / Commstrat
A Commstrat Consulting platform

Africa's plastic circular economy, sorted.

PlasticLoop Hub is the practitioner-first intelligence platform for everyone building the loop — waste collectors, recyclers, municipalities, EPR scheme operators, brands and investors. Policy, technology and market data across African markets, in one place.

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Tracking 13 markets · 40+ policy instruments · 120+ recycling technologies · Updated weekly

Fig. 01 — Mixed feedstock → sorted streams. Sorting is where value begins. So does clarity.

The intelligence stack

Four ways in, one connected picture

Everything is cross-linked: a policy connects to the countries it governs, the technologies it favours and the guides that explain it in practice.

Pillar / Library

Knowledge Library

Practical guides, explainers and case studies — from setting up a buy-back centre to pricing baled PET, written for people doing the work.

Guides coming soon
Pillar / Policy

Policy Tracker

Live status of EPR regulations, plastic bans, levies and standards across African markets — what's in force, what's coming, what it means.

Open the tracker
Pillar / Technology

Technology Map

A structured map of sorting, washing, recycling and conversion technologies — matched to feedstocks, scales and African operating realities.

Map coming soon
Pillar / Markets

Country Profiles

Market-by-market depth: regulation, key players, collection infrastructure, pricing signals and investment activity.

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Policy tracker — live preview

Know the rules before they change the market

Regulation is the single biggest force shaping plastic value chains in Africa. We track every instrument, in plain language.

MarketInstrumentTypeStatus
Kenya Extended Producer Responsibility Regulations · SM-EPR/2024 EPR In force
Rwanda Prohibition of single-use plastics · L.17/2019 Ban In force
South Africa Section 18 EPR — paper & packaging · NEMWA s.18 EPR In force
Nigeria National EPR operational guidelines · NESREA EPR Draft
Ghana National plastics management policy review · MESTI Policy In review
Preview — members see all 13 markets, full analysis and change alerts. Unlock the full tracker
Live feed

What's moving the loop

Pulled daily from news RSS feeds, filtered for African plastics and packaging, and topped up by our editors. Every story credits and links to the outlet that reported it.

Updated daily

Stories link to and credit the original publishers. Summaries are written by the PlasticLoop team. Always check the original source before acting on a development.

In pictures

The loop, up close

Collectors, sorting lines, buy-back centres and the people who keep plastic moving across African markets.

Latest events & deadlines

Dates the sector is planning around

Conferences worth the trip, plus the regulatory deadlines that will change how plastic moves through African markets.

    Running an event? Send it to us for listing. Submit an event
    Built for the whole loop

    Intelligence at every link of the chain

    Value flows through the chain in this order — and so does our content. Each stage gets guidance written for its decisions, not someone else's.

    Collectors & aggregators

    Pricing signals, quality specs, buy-back models and safety practice.

    Municipalities

    Collection system design, EPR participation and procurement guidance.

    Recyclers

    Technology selection, feedstock economics and offtake market data.

    Brands & EPR operators

    Compliance tracking, scheme benchmarks and credible-claims guidance.

    Investors

    Market sizing, deal activity, policy risk and pipeline intelligence.

    Country profiles

    African market depth is the point

    Global datasets flatten Africa into one row. We go market by market — because Kigali is not Lagos, and Nairobi is not Accra.

    Kenya

    KE / East Africa
    EPR statusIn force
    Registered recyclers60+
    Key instrumentEPR Regs 2024
    Profile depthFull

    Nigeria

    NG / West Africa
    EPR statusDraft
    Registered recyclers100+
    Key instrumentNESREA EPR
    Profile depthFull

    Rwanda

    RW / East Africa
    EPR statusBan-led
    Registered recyclers15+
    Key instrumentLaw 17/2019
    Profile depthFull
    Players directory

    Who's building the loop

    Waste picker organisations, collectors, aggregators, recyclers, PROs and the organisations that back them — searchable by role, country, size, ownership and the materials they handle.

    "Listed by PlasticLoop" entries were compiled from public sources (linked on each card) and haven't yet been confirmed by the organisation. Is your organisation listed? Register to claim and update your entry.

    Membership

    Priced for practitioners, valuable to boardrooms

    Core knowledge stays open. Depth, data and alerts are what members pay for.

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    Free, forever
    • Knowledge Library essentials
    • Policy tracker headline view
    • Monthly Loop Briefing newsletter
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    Practitioner
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    • Full policy tracker, all 13 markets
    • Complete country profiles & technology map
    • Policy change alerts to your inbox
    • Member-only pricing & market data
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    Partner
    For brands, schemes & investors
    • Team seats and API access
    • Quarterly research reports
    • Sponsorship & visibility options
    • Direct line to the Commstrat team
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    Advisory

    Need more than intelligence? Commission the team behind it.

    PlasticLoop Hub is built by Commstrat Consulting — advisors on circular economy strategy, EPR readiness and stakeholder engagement across African markets, with delivery experience inside the region's largest FMCG businesses.

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