Publication: The Economics of Plastic Use and Cleanup Priorities for West African Coastal Countries
Loading...
Date
2023-07-12
ISSN
Published
2023-07-12
Author(s)
Editor(s)
Abstract
Rapidly growing, unregulated plastic litter has created a multitude of environmental and economic problems worldwide. With an estimated lifetime of centuries, plastic waste has become a major stressor in marine ecosystems. In West Africa, the use of plastic products has proliferated with urbanization, and their unregulated disposal has created a host of terrestrial and marine-related environmental problems. This study aims to help decision-makers better understand the economics of marine plastic-waste generation and its cleanup, with a focus on West African coastal countries. To aid the policy process to reduce marine plastic pollution, it addresses the following key questions: • What is the economic cost to society of marine plastic waste? • How does this cost compare with the pollution mitigation cost, using various incentive-based, command-and control approaches for pollution prevention and the cost of plastic waste removal through cleaning, recycling, and safe disposal? • Would general economic measures (for example, tariffs on imported polyethylene) significantly reduce pollution from single-use plastics? • Are there trade-offs between plastic pollution prevention and any other social objectives related to policymaking? How should cost-effective cleanups be implemented?
Link to Data Set
Citation
“World Bank. 2023. The Economics of Plastic Use and Cleanup Priorities for West African Coastal Countries . © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/39984 License: CC BY-NC 3.0 IGO.”
Associated URLs
Associated content
Other publications in this report series
Journal
Journal Volume
Journal Issue
Collections
Related items
Showing items related by metadata.
Publication West Africa Circular Economy(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2023-07-12)The circular economy has become a priority in recent decades as policy makers seek to facilitate a transition from linear production systems to closed systems that reuse resources, reduce energy consumption and avoid the exploitation of nonrenewable resources. This regional gap analysis reveals several important trends. Key among them is a rapid rate of increase. Plastic consumption in the WACA region was estimated at 7.9 million tons in 2021; at current growth rates, this could increase to 12 million tons by 2026. The WACA region relies heavily on imported plastic-related goods from sources outside the region, such as Asia. Nigeria was found to be both the largest producer of plastic products and the biggest importer of plastic parts and products, in addition to being the WACA region’s only producer of virgin plastic resin. Other notable major producers of plastics in the WACA region include Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire. The plastic landscape investigation included a spatial analysis of plastic waste generation across the WACA region. This revealed varying rates of national annual plastic generation. The spatial analysis work also led to the identification of 71 plastic waste generation hotspots across the WACA region, with a concentration in Nigeria. The plastic market analysis revealed that the three industry sectors (construction, plastic packaging, and fisheries) represented 78 percent of total plastic consumption in 2021. By 2026, the three sectors’ business-as-usual plastic consumption is expected to reach 9.5 million tons, with per capita plastic waste growing from 12.5 kilograms (kg) to 17.3 kg. The largest plastics consumer of the three sectors is plastic packaging, followed by construction. The plastic packaging sector could focus on new, circular economy business models over the next five years. In this sector, plastic waste recovery and avoidance/reuse/recycling of between 2.2 and 4 million tons of plastic in a “pragmatic” 1 circular scenario would reduce CO 2 emissions between 41 and 53 percent (3.6–6.7 million tons CO 2 emissions). In the construction industry, in a pragmatic circular scenario plastic avoidance would reduce CO 2 emissions between 0.1 and 0.3 million tons, and plastic waste recovery would reduce CO 2 emissions between 0.1 and 0.2 million tons. Finally, in the fisheries sector, plastic avoidance under the pragmatic circular scenario would reduce CO 2 emissions between 0.03 and 0.05 million tons, and plastic waste recovery would reduce CO 2 emissions between 0.04 and 0.07 million tons. New circular business models can motivate these three sectors to reuse and extend the life span of plastic materials.Publication Reducing Marine and Coastal Pollution(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2016-03)The West African coastline is home to major industries, mining activities, peri-urban and agro-industry, and tourism, as well as urban and seaside residences, all of which generate waste and cause pollution. Many areas along the coast also lack adequate wastewater and solid waste management systems. As a result, large volumes of untreated wastewater and solid waste are dumped into the open, polluting the land and water. Water quality studies can help policy makers set targets and baselines and develop pollution reduction plans at the local, national, and regional levels. Such studies generally focus on pollution from sewage/wastewater, nutrients, and marine litter; they may also include other pollutants, such as oil (spills from ships and offshore oil exploration and production), chemicals, and heavy metals. Reducing the generation of plastic debris requires collect¬ing data on the origin, volumes, and types of plastic litter, so that appropriate measures can be taken to reduce the use of, reuse, or recycle plastic products.Publication Plastic Pollution in Coastal West Africa - Synthesis(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2023-07-12)Plastic pollution is a worldwide environmental challenge. In coastal West Africa, about 80 percent of plastic waste is mismanaged, posing escalating challenges to people, the economy, and the coastal and marine environment. This Synthesis Paper was prepared to inform decision-makers from the region about the challenges of plastic pollution and to convey the urgent need for action.Publication Options for Reducing Plastic Leakage to the Marine Environment from Capture Fisheries and Aquaculture(Washington, DC, 2023-05-10)The Government of Indonesia’s (GoI) National Plan of Action on Marine Plastic Debris (NPOA-MPD 2017-2025) outlines the ambitious objective of reducing marine plastic debris by seventy percent by 2025. Abandoned, Lost and Discarded Fishing Gear (ALDFG) is a major component of sea-based sources of marine debris, and is another important sea-based source of plastic leakage. The cultivation of marine and aquatic species, including seaweed, uses plastic components such as buoys, ropes, harvest bins and feed sacks. The primary pathways for plastic leakage from aquaculture include mismanagement, deliberate discharge, extreme weather and catastrophic events such as tsunamis. The impacts of fishery and aquaculture plastic pollution on the environment, economy, livelihoods and food security are significant. The scale of these impacts on fisheries, marine ecosystems and human users has prompted international action. Managing and mitigating plastic pollution from fisheries and aquaculture has the potential to contribute to Indonesia’s marine plastic debris targets while also providing economic opportunities. This report presents options for reducing ALDFG and ALDAG in Indonesia, and improving the management and use of End-of-life fishing gear (EOLFG).Publication The Costs of Environmental Degradation from Plastic Pollution in Selected Coastal Areas in the United Republic of Tanzania(World Bank, Washington DC, 2023-03-16)Plastic waste negatively impacts ecosystems, public health, and local economies in Tanzania. For example, marine plastic and microplastic wastes contaminate beaches, sea grass areas and coral reef habitats, lower the quality of marine ecosystems and biodiversity, and endanger bird and marine wildlife through entanglement and the ingestion of plastics of different sizes. They also endanger human health through food chains. Valuation of the costs of environmental degradation (COED) from marine plastic pollution helps the country to understand the scale of the impacts and prioritize activities for mitigation of these impacts. This study developed the methodology to estimate the COED in the selected coastal areas in Zanzibar and Dar es Salaam. It is the first of its kind for valuing the impacts of marine plastic wastes on local economic sectors, public health, and marine ecosystems. The valuation results reveal that marine plastics pollution causes a net economic cost to the local economic activities, especially tourism, and the natural environment of study areas, and that in some areas costs can be quite significant. The analysis of the costs across study areas and sectors is useful for prioritizing marine plastic pollution management activities.
Users also downloaded
Showing related downloaded files
Publication Labor Productivity and Access to Markets Matter for Pro-Poor Growth(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2005-06)Employment is widely perceived as being amongst the most important channels for translating growth into poverty reduction. However there has been limited empirical research to date on the relationship between growth, employment and poverty reduction. This paper focuses on two countries, Burkina Faso and Vietnam, with very distinct patterns of growth and poverty reduction. It examines how employment transmitted growth to the poor during the 1990s in each of these cases and what the role was of specific policies and initial country conditions. In particular, we attempt shed some light on Vietnam’s relative success in terms of pro-poor growth. Understanding these questions will be important in informing the formulation of policies that maximize the participation of the poor in the growth process.This paper is undertaken within the broader framework of the Operationalising Pro-poor Growth (OPPG) study, which is based on 14 country case studies that examine linkages between growth and poverty reduction during the 1990s. The aim of this paper is to supplement the more general labor market analysis contained in the case studies, with a detailed inspection of how employment serves as a transmission channel from growth to poverty reduction.There are two important factors that maximize the effectiveness of employment in transmitting growth to the poor: (1) an increase in labor productivity that is (a) broad based and (b) concentrated in sectors where the poor are disproportionately employed or to which they have access, and (2) strong (domestic and foreign) demand for the goods and services produced by the poor and access to these markets.The paper is organized as follows. It begins with a brief review of what the existing literature tells us regarding the linkages between growth, labor markets and poverty reduction. We then briefly review what can be learned from the 14 OPPG country case studies is this respect. Section four introduces Burkina Faso and Vietnam and provides some basic stylized facts at the beginning of the 1990s, with an aim to set out the initial country conditions. It also highlights how these two countries represent the two extreme patterns of growth and poverty reduction observed in the 14 OPPG country case studies. Section five provides a profile of poverty in the labor market in Burkina Faso and Vietnam, identifying who the poor were at the beginning of the 90’s, which groups faced the highest risks of poverty and how this changed during the 1990s. In section six, examine how labor markets transmitted growth to the poor in Vietnam. It analyzes how growth was reflected in the structure of employment and the extent of underemployment and what the impact was on earnings in sectors where the poor and non-poor were employed. Using panel data we then examine the extent to which the poor in Vietnam were able to benefit from growth by moving out of agriculture and into faster-growing industrial and services sectors. In section seven examines how growth affected the structure of employment and earnings in Burkina Faso during the 1990s. We then briefly analyze how employment affected the distributional pattern of growth in both countries in section eight. Finally, section ten draws some conclusions on how specific policies and initial country conditions affected the way in which employment transmitted growth to the poor in Burkina Faso and Vietnam and what factors can help to explain Vietnam’s relative success in terms of growth and poverty reduction.Publication Kingdom of Morocco : Poverty Update, Volume 1. Main Report(Washington, DC, 2001-03-30)According to the 1998-99 Living Standards Measurement Survey conducted in Moroocco, poverty showed a disturbing increase during the 1990s, regardless of how poverty is measured. This report updates the poverty profile for Morocco following the comprehensive approach suggested by the latest World Development Report (see report no. 20888 for an overview of this report). It presents a detailed analysis of 1) Poverty trends in the 1990s (Chapter 2), 2) which factors are key in explaining the observed increase in poverty (Chapter 3), and 3) the support given to the poor by Government intervention (Chapter 4). An overview of the main initiatives taken by the authorities as well as by nongovernmental organizations and private businesses in the late 1990s is presented in the first chapter; their effects, though not captured by the 1998/99 data, are likely to have a significant impact on poverty reduction in the coming years.Publication Improving Access to Medicines in Developing Countries : Application of New Institutional Economics to the Analysis of Manufacturing and Distribution Issues(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2005-03)This paper examines alternative frameworks for empirical analysis of supply side activities, namely, the manufacture and distribution of medicine, through the application of New Institutional Economics (NIE) concepts. Attention is focused particularly upon the potential utility of ideas from agency theory, transaction cost analysis and contemporary ideas from strategy theory. The major purpose of this paper is to use these theoretical frameworks to provide insight for policy makers, when faced with specific situations, whether in an international agency, or a private company, or in defining a national strategy. The analysis attempts to show the importance of distinctions between ideas of 'make' or 'buy', between 'national self sufficiency' and 'international purchasing' strategies, the limitations of contractual agreements under market governance and the crucial linkages between strategy formulation, strategy implementation and the necessary capabilities to achieve successful performance in practice. The current international situation on the investment, location and capacity of pharmaceutical manufacturing is reviewed and likely future scenarios suggested. Correspondingly current patterns of trade in medicines and their likely development within the context of the WTO and bilateral trade agreements are discussed. Against this background the promise and the pitfalls for new forms of public-private partnerships, which may offer attractive alternatives to conventional structures are evaluated. The implications of alternative future strategic options for national governments in setting the balance between health and industrial policies are examined and in particular the extent to which a national manufacturing capability should be developed or sustained. Similarly the scope for improving low cost distribution systems for medicines, based upon a mix of public and private sector channels, is assessed. We conclude with suggestions for further development of a transaction-based framework.Publication Case Study 2 - Andhra Pradesh, India : Participation in Macroeconomic Policy Making and Reform(Washington, DC, 2003-03)For the past six years, the State of Andhra Pradesh in India has been at the vanguard of efforts to modernize the economy and the state while pursuing policies to improve the lives of the poorest. The Chief Minister and head of the ruling Telugu Desam Party (TDP), Mr. Chandra Babu Naidu, is known by some as the "Laptop Minister" for his modernizing initiatives. He has reached out to international organizations and investors but has also maintained his base of support at home, in part through expanded programs in education, health, and rural development. "I have initiated so many things," Naidu said. "They are going on and will pay off after some time. But people need something today." The challenges facing the government are daunting. Andhra Pradesh (AP) is one of the largest and poorest states in India. Its population of almost 80 million approaches that of the Philippines, the 13th most populous country in the world. Even as its high-tech industries develop rapidly, AP's overall literacy rate remains a modest 44% and one-third of the population lives in poverty.Publication Strategic Planning for Poverty Reduction in Vietnam : Progress and Challenges for Meeting the Localized Millennium Development Goals(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2003-01)This paper discusses the progress that Vietnam has made toward meeting a core set of development goals that the government recently adopted as part of its Comprehensive Poverty Reduction and Growth Strategy (CPRGS). These goals are strongly related to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), but are adapted and expanded to reflect Vietnam's national challenges and the government's ambitious development plans. For each Vietnam Development Goal, the authors describe recent trends in relation to the trajectories implied by the MDGs, outline the intermediate targets identified by the government, and discuss the challenges involved in meeting these. Relative to other countries of similar per capita expenditures, Vietnam has made rapid progress in a number of key areas. Poverty has halved over the 1990s, enrollment rates in primary education have risen to 91 percent (although there is a quality problem), indicators of gender equity have been strengthened, child mortality has been reduced, maternal health has improved, and real progress has been made in combating malaria and other communicable diseases. In contrast, Vietnam scores worse than other comparable countries in the areas of child malnutrition, access to clean water, and combating HIV/AIDS. A number of important crosscutting issues emerge from this analysis that need to be addressed. One such challenge is improving equity, both in terms of ensuring that the benefits of growth are distributed evenly across the population and in terms of access to public services. This will involve addressing the affordability of education and curative health care for poor households. Improvements in public expenditure planning are needed to align resources better to stated desired outcomes and to link nationally-defined targets to subnational planning and budgeting processes. There is also a need to address capacity and data gaps which will be crucial for effective monitoring.