Community-based circular waste management

The project supported three peri-urban communities in Bamako in developing and implementing a community-based circular waste management model. More specifically, in the first two years, it assessed and quantified the needs and opportunities for waste management, plastic recycling and a Sustainable Community Project (SCP) model. Communities were educated  on environmental health, waste management and plastic recycling. Local partners were involved in implementing the SCP model in Bamako, establishing compost and charcoal briquette production and employing disadvantaged young women. Using data collected from five studies in the first year of the project, the second year of the project introduced a community awareness phase, based on knowledge, behaviors, attitudes and practices observed in the three communities. Recycling and upcycling practices are alternative livelihoods for unemployed young people and women and an approach to community management of plastic waste. The supervising committees have already begun discussions with heads of households to develop appropriate community solutions for waste management and the use of alternatives to reduce single use plastic. The results of these initiatives will be known in early 2024 and will help Mali Health to adjust the future activities. The project team is confident that the home visits and other communication activities in the communities, under the leadership of the watchdog committees, will trigger a positive change towards waste management and the use of plastic products.

Mali Health is an American NGO founded in 2007. It aims to improve maternal and child health and survival in poor, peri-urban communities in Bamako, Mali, by helping mothers and children access high-quality primary care and preventative healthcare.