Turning awareness into action: Afri-Plastics Challenge seeks ways to reduce plastic waste

The Afri-Plastics Challenge launches its third strand, Promoting Change, which is all about identifying creative interventions that will change behaviours.

I think we can all agree that plastic waste is a global issue with an increasing threat to our environment. There are also growing efforts around the world to reduce plastic waste usage at a local, regional, national and global scale. While all these efforts are crucial to reversing the tide on plastic pollution – how can we ensure that our efforts translate to long-term action?

There is a unique opportunity to explore new and creative ways of tackling plastic waste while also ensuring efforts translate into long-term change. Today the Afri-Plastics Challenge is launching its third and final strand, Promoting Change. The challenge is seeking the creation of campaigns, schemes, tools and other creative interventions that will change both the behaviour of individuals and communities around plastic waste in Sub-Saharan Africa, as well as contribute to the empowerment of women and girls.

Successful applicants will use innovative engagement strategies such as nudges, gamification, incentives, and storytelling, as well as insights on the roles that women and girls play across the value chain.  By the end of the challenge, the best solutions will have generated evidence of change in individual and communities’ behaviour around one or more of the following:

• Reducing littering
• Segregation of plastic waste
• Choosing reusable options
• Refusing single-use plastic

The relationship between plastic waste usage and human-behaviour is complex, both at individual and at collective levels. There is a crucial need for innovative solutions that go beyond information and awareness. There is a need for prompt meaningful action that results in long-term change, and this starts with shifting our behaviour with plastic waste towards environmentally positive and sustainable actions.