Updated to clarify that the project will be eligible for both WCCs and WRCs.

A plastic collection and recycling project in Senegal has been registered with Verra, the first on the African continent to qualify for earning the standard’s Waste Collection Credits (WCCs) and Waste Recycling Credits (WRCs).

Africa Carbon and Commodities’ (ACC) Deekali Plastic Recovery West Africa project got the green light from Verra in late June, though the decision was only announced on Monday.

“Gaining the registration status from Verra is a remarkable achievement, and now plastic credits can be purchased by global companies and organisations, allowing corporates to make a difference in Senegal, a Least Developed Country, which is suffering from immense plastic pollution,” said Nicole Dewing, co-founder and managing director of ACC.

“The registration marks a major milestone in ACC’s fight against plastic waste in Africa. The programme is a necessary tool to start the plastic recovery revolution.”

According to Verra’s WCC registry, the Deekali project is expected to collect around 3,034 tonnes of plastic waste annually.

It will also earn around 4,300 waste recycling units annually.

It is only the fourth project globally to earn Verra registration, after Second Life’s Ocean-Bound & Land Plastic Recovery, Recycling, and Reuse project in Thailand, Danone Aqua’s Reciki scheme in Indonesia, and Terra Carbon’s Far North Queensland Farm Plastics project in Australia.

At almost 32,000 tonnes of plastics expected to be collected or recycled annually, the Thai project is by far the biggest of the registered programmes.

Some 30 other projects are in the pipeline, awaiting final registration.

Verra is one of several organisations that have begun issuing plastic credits as a means to help to alleviate the global plastic pollution crisis, which is also having devastating impacts on biodiversity – especially marine ecosystems – and contributes to climate change.

“Plastic waste in Senegal not only causes very harmful air pollution when it’s burned, but also significantly impacts our marine life, and (by extension) the livelihoods of local fishing communities,” said ACC co-founder and managing director Mamadou Sarr.

“The plastic credits programme provides an incentive for global companies to help developing countries, have a more positive impact, and be a part of the solution.”

Senegal’s waste management sector suffers from inadequate infrastructure, but plastic credit sales will allow the Deekali project to organise plastic collectors to bring the material to plastic recycling facilities, where it is recycled into chips and granules and sold to manufacturers to replace virgin plastic, according to ACC.

Deekali also produces plastic lumber from recycled plastic, which is used to manufacture school desks, stools, chairs, tables, and more.

The project underwent a two-year review process with Verra and a one-year independent audit, ACC said in its statement.

By Stian Reklev – stian@carbon-pulse.com

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