ACC’s Deekali Plastic Waste Project is First in Africa to Earn VERRA Plastic Credit Registration

Global corporates can now buy verified plastic credit to help discount of huge plastic blight overwhelming the African continent, beginning in Senegal

DAKAR, Senegal – July 17, 2023 – Africa Carbon & Commodities (ACC), a company driving sustainable options for environmental challenges in Africa, right now introduced the Deekali Plastic Project in Senegal is the primary plastic credit score mission in Africa to meet the stringent necessities for registration for the VERRA Plastic Waste Reduction Standard. The Deekali mission now gives international company entities the primary likelihood to offset their plastics footprint via the acquisition of plastic credit that may help the expansion of a round financial system in creating nations whereas serving to to mitigate Africa’s huge plastic drawback that threatens oceans and the surroundings.

The Deekali Plastic Project in Senegal is considered one of solely 4 packages globally to meet the VERRA necessities for plastic credit. A complete of 34 tasks world wide are listed on the VERRA listing, at the moment going via the approval and registration course of. For each verified credit score, one ton of plastic is faraway from the surroundings or recycled in order to meet the VERRA commonplace. Under mission growth lead ACC, the Deekali Plastics Project underwent a two- yr VERRA assessment course of and an unbiased one yr audit guaranteeing the mission met all social and environmental necessities in addition to monitoring of the plastic waste from its supply to its finish vacation spot.

The Deekali Project: ACC monitoring workers with workers from considered one of its recycling facilities.

“Gaining the registration standing from VERRA is a exceptional achievement, and now plastic credit might be bought by international corporations and organizations, permitting corporates to make a distinction in Senegal, a Least Developed Country, which is affected by immense plastic air pollution,” stated Nicole Dewing, ACC co-founder and managing director. “The registration marks a significant milestone in ACC’s battle in opposition to plastic waste in Africa. The program is a needed device to begin the plastic restoration revolution.”

“ACC’s imaginative and prescient is to use the plastic credit program to assist eradicate plastic waste from dumps, landfills, public areas, seashores, and households in Senegal, in addition to present significant and well-paid jobs to native residents,” Dewing continued.

The plastic disaster in Senegal is due to an insufficient infrastructure for managing waste and/or poorly or non-enforced rules on use. While the nation has a fraction of the U.S. inhabitants, it produces twice the amount of the United States’ mismanaged plastic waste. Senegal’s 521-kilometer shoreline is significantly susceptible.

“Plastic waste in Senegal not solely causes very dangerous air air pollution when it’s burned, but in addition considerably impacts our marine life, and (by extension) the livelihoods of native fishing communities,” defined Mamdou Sarr, ACC co-founder and government director. “The plastic credit program offers an incentive for international corporations to assist creating nations, have a extra constructive influence, and be part of the answer.”

How the Deekali Project Works

The internationally permitted plastic credit score program of VERRA—comparable in idea to the more-established and acquainted carbon offset credit score packages—is a private-to-private market-based system, with a purpose of creating a round financial system. Companies worldwide looking for to discover a manner to offset their plastic footprint can now buy plastic credit, and assist the place the issue is most acute – nations in which strong waste administration is nonexistent or insufficient.

The Deekali plastic credit score mission brings collectively tons of of plastic waste collectors and three recycling services to fight this blight on the grassroots degree. Cash generated by plastic credit score gross sales pays for plastic waste assortment concentrating on both elimination from the surroundings or recycling. The plastic waste is recycled into chips and granules and bought to plastic producers to change virgin plastic. The Project additionally produces plastic lumber that is constituted of 100% recycled plastic, which is used to manufacture faculty desks, stools, chairs, tables and far more – basically something that may be manufactured with lumber.

Macoumba Diagne, director of one of many recycling corporations in the Deekali Project, factors out that the plastic credit enable his operations to improve the corporate’s assortment and recycling capability via modernization of its manufacturing traces, in addition to recruit new workers, and enhance workers’ working surroundings. His worker packages embrace “One Employee, One Roof,” enabling pre-financing of ecological and reasonably priced housing.

About Africa Carbon & Commodities (ACC)

Africa Carbon & Commodities (ACC) is a number one mission developer devoted to driving sustainable options for environmental challenges in Africa. ACC pioneers modern tasks that fight local weather change, promote sustainable practices and empower native communities. With a robust give attention to plastic waste discount and recycling, ACC is actively concerned in making a round financial system and supporting organizations in offsetting their plastic footprint. For extra info, go to www.acc.sn | data@acc.sn.

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