By Zachary Gava
Harare, (New Ziana) – Zimbabwe is stepping up efforts to address the risks posed by persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in plastic products, with Government calling for stronger public awareness, cross-sector collaboration and practical solutions to prevent toxic chemicals from being recycled and redistributed into the environment.
Deputy Director in the Ministry of Environment, Climate and Wildlife, Angela Kabira, speaking on behalf of Permanent Secretary Simon Masanga, said effective communication would be critical to the success of Zimbabwe’s efforts to promote circular and POPs-free plastics.
She was speaking in Harare on Monday at a validation workshop for the National Communication Plan and Implementation Strategy under the project “Circular and POPs-Free Plastics in Africa: A Five-Year Mission”, organised by the Environmental Management Agency (EMA).
Kabira said the initiative sought to reduce the importation, production and use of plastics containing persistent organic pollutants, while also addressing their unintentional release into the environment.
“However, we cannot solve a problem that people do not know about, and that is why today’s workshop is important,” she said.
POPs are highly persistent chemicals that can remain in the environment for long periods, accumulate in living organisms and move through food chains, posing risks to human health and ecosystems.
Kabira warned that poorly managed plastics containing such substances could spread the hazards through recycling, disposal and other end-of-life processes.
“Without proper management and end-of-life traceability, recycling or disposal of POPs-containing plastics simply redistributes these hazards across ecosystems,” she said.
The project brings together Zimbabwe and other African countries, including Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa and Uganda, in an effort to address POPs in plastics while promoting more sustainable approaches to production, consumption and waste management.
Zimbabwe is implementing the initiative in collaboration with the Basel Convention Coordinating Centre for the Africa Region (BCCC-Nigeria) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
Kabira said the initiative was closely aligned with Zimbabwe’s National Development Strategy 2 (NDS2) and the country’s Vision 2030 aspirations, particularly the drive towards green infrastructure, sustainable industrialisation and improved environmental management.
She said reducing hazardous substances in plastic products and promoting closed-loop recycling could also create opportunities for waste recovery and contribute to the development of a circular economy.
“Eliminating toxic additives from plastic life cycles enables safer resource recovery, unlocking economic opportunities through waste-to-wealth initiatives, protecting public health and safeguarding crucial ecosystems,” she said.
The Government sees the development of the communication strategy as an important component of the project, particularly in improving access to information on POPs and building the capacity of stakeholders to identify and manage the associated risks.
Kabira said the draft strategy being considered at the workshop was expected to provide a framework for raising awareness about POPs, communicating their risks and encouraging practices that reduce pollution from plastics containing hazardous substances.
She said the strategy should reach a wide range of stakeholders, including manufacturers, importers, recyclers, waste collectors, policymakers, the construction sector, schools and communities.
“The strategy must, therefore, speak to stakeholders across the construction sector, manufacturers, our importers, recyclers, waste collectors, policymakers, schools and communities,” she said.
Kabira also emphasised the importance of an integrated approach involving Government, the private sector, industry associations, academia, civil society and communities.
She said stronger inter-sectoral collaboration would support the Government’s whole-of-government and participatory approach to environmental programming.
The validation workshop provides stakeholders with an opportunity to scrutinise the proposed communication and implementation strategy and ensure that it is suited to Zimbabwe’s circumstances before implementation.
Kabira urged participants to provide detailed and constructive input to make the strategy “robust, contextually relevant and actionable for Zimbabwe.”
The workshop forms part of the project’s knowledge management, capacity-building and communication component, which seeks to strengthen information sharing and equip stakeholders with the knowledge required to support the transition towards safer and more sustainable plastics.
The initiative comes as countries across Africa seek to address the growing environmental and health challenges associated with plastic pollution while developing circular-economy approaches that keep materials in productive use for longer and reduce waste.
For Zimbabwe, the communication strategy is expected to help translate policy commitments on sustainable production, waste management and environmental protection into greater awareness and action among those involved throughout the plastics life cycle – from production and importation to consumption, recycling and final disposal.
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