A partnership between the packaging and speciality plastics division of US chemicals and materials giant Dow (Midland, Michigan; www.dow.com) and Norwegian digital platform developer Empower (Oslo; www.empower.eco) seeks to advance plastics circularity in Nigeria. The companies plan to implement a scalable and digital waste collection and recycling business model in the country’s capital Lagos.

A study launched through the partnership and funded in part by the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad) is to examine the feasibility of advancing a circular economy to reduce plastics waste and pollution in Lagos. Empower’s digital platform uses blockchain technology to ensure transparency and reliability along the entire value chain when tracking polymer waste and its conversion into sustainable packaging.

The findings of the study should identify opportunities to expand plastics circularity by incentivising communities to manage waste collection, separation and processing locally. The companies also aim to assist in scaling up a water sachet recycling programme named “Project ReflexNG” launched by Dow in Nigeria last year (see Plasteurope.com of 22.07.2020).

The US giant is also helping advance a circular economy for plastics in Kenya (see Plasteurope.com of 04.01.2021).