E2. Front Line Community Green

Photo Credit: Green Knowledge Foundation, Nigeria.

By Weyinmi Okotie, GAIA Africa, Clean Air Program Manager 

This week, 13 – 16 July, policymakers, scientists, civil society organisations, development partners, and community leaders will gather in Pretoria for the 2026 Africa Clean Air Forum. The theme is “Investment Case for Clean Air and Healthy Cities.” Air pollution is becoming one of Africa’s most pressing public health challenges. The forum is a crucial opportunity to shape the continent’s clean air agenda.

Over the years, the forum has grown beyond an annual conference. It has become a platform for collaboration. This helps governments, researchers, and communities share evidence, strengthen partnerships, and accelerate action on air pollution. Most importantly, it has raised air quality from a largely ignored environmental issue to a critical public health and development priority in Africa.  

Across Africa, awareness of air pollution is increasing as cities are investing in air quality monitoring. More cities are realising that clean air is essential for healthier communities, stronger economies, and climate resilience. 

The growth of air quality monitoring networks across the continent is especially encouraging. Reliable data leads to better policies, stronger accountability, and more informed public decision-making.  

But monitoring air pollution is only the beginning. The real measure of success lies in whether the investments that follow truly reduce pollution and improve people’s lives. As African governments seek solutions, we must ensure that the technologies promoted address the root cause of the problem rather than end-of-pipe solutions. 

While discussions on air pollution often focus on transport, industrial activities, and power generation, waste is a major yet frequently overlooked source of pollution in African cities. 

Open burning of waste is common in many communities due to poor collection systems, badly managed dumpsites, and limited waste infrastructure. Smoke from burning plastics, organic waste, and other mixed materials exposes nearby communities to harmful air pollutants and emits greenhouse gases.  

Open burning of waste accounts for 29% of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) pollution in the air, and, together with other air pollutants, causes nearly 1.2 million premature deaths per year in Africa.

There is no doubt that Africa must stop open burning; the question is HOW do we achieve this?

Studies also highlight that around 70-80% of the municipal solid waste generated in African cities is recyclable – such as biodegradable waste, plastics and paper,and could be worth US$8 billion per year if kept in a circular economy. Hence, there is a need to support real solutions to waste management challenges in Africa, such as separation at source, waste reduction, reuse, recycling, and composting initiatives.

Increasingly, the industry is promoting waste-to-energy incineration as the solution to Africa’s municipal waste challenges. However, this is a false claim!

Incineration does not eliminate waste. It changes waste into emissions, toxic ash, and greenhouse gases. It also relies on a steady supply of combustible waste, creating long-term dependence on generating and burning materials that should be reduced, reused, recycled, or composted.  

For many African countries reviewing their waste systems, this is a critical moment. Decisions made today will shape urban infrastructure for decades. Investing in costly combustion technologies risks locking cities into a waste-management mode that competes with recycling, undermines resource recovery, and diverts limited public resources from real environmental justice efforts. 

The forum’s focus on increasing investment in clean air is both timely and necessary. Africa urgently needs more financial support to strengthen air quality monitoring, improve enforcement, build institutional capacity, and implement effective pollution control measures.  

However, as we work to increase clean air finance, we must ensure that the funds are NEVER used to support false solutions in the waste management sector, which are already known to emit a cocktail of noxious substances into our environment.

Funding for the waste sector should not support false solutions such as waste-to-energy incineration under the guise of reducing pollution. Clean air finance should prioritise interventions that prevent pollution at its source—such as waste separation, composting, recycling, organic waste recovery, material recovery facilities, and the integration of informal waste workers into modern waste management systems.  

These approaches do more than reduce emissions. They create jobs, improve public health, reduce methane emissions, strengthen local economies, and advance the transition toward circular economies. They address multiple environmental challenges simultaneously rather than shifting pollution from land to air.  

I hope this forum continues to inspire strong leadership—not only in acknowledging the scale of Africa’s air pollution crisis, but also in choosing solutions grounded in science, public health, and environmental justice, especially in the waste management sector.

My desire for Africa is that we do not confuse costly technologies with meaningful progress. That we resist the temptation to fund projects simply because they seem modern or innovative. That communities most affected by pollution are put at the centre of decision-making. And that Africa has the courage to reject false solutions, even when they are proposed as shortcuts to municipal waste management. 

The discussions at this year’s Clean Air Forum will not ultimately measure the forum’s success. It will be measured by the policies adopted, the investments made, and the quality of the air that millions of Africans breathe long after the conference has ended. 

ENDS.

The post Investing in clean air should also mean rejecting false solutions to the waste management crisis first appeared on GAIA.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 14, 2026

Berkeley, CA — Thirty-one environmental organizations, including GAIA (the Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives), are calling on environmental agencies in seven US states to ensure strong safeguards for plastic recycling and disposal facilities. On Tuesday, July 14, the organizations submitted a joint letter urging regulators not to surrender oversight of those facilities by adopting the “Responsible Markets (REM) Standard,” which weakens existing state and federal protections for community health, worker safety, and the environment. 

The groups also raised concerns around a lack of adequate public consultation on the draft standard, proposed by the Producer Responsibility Organization for packaging Extended Producer Responsibility schemes in California, Colorado, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, Oregon, and Washington. 

Press contact:

María Guillén, Communications & Network Development Manager, U.S. & Canada

mariaguillen@no-burn.org

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The Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives (GAIA) is a member-based, environmental justice network working at the intersection of waste, climate, and justice. In the United States and Canada, GAIA supports grassroots organizations that advance zero waste solutions, challenge the plastics and petrochemical industries, reduce methane emissions, and promote safe, sustainable practices for electric vehicle battery production and recycling.

.stk-hb1ya7z {height:78px !important;} REM standard – joint letter 2026Download

The post 31 Environmental Organizations Call on Regulators in 7 States to Protect Oversight of Plastic Recycling Facilities first appeared on GAIA.

Accra, Ghana – The City of Accra has officially unveiled its LOW-Methane Portfolio, a landmark roadmap that sets out bold actions to reduce methane emissions from the waste sector while advancing climate resilience, public health, job creation, and the city’s  transition toward a zero waste future.

The portfolio outlines Accra’s commitment to reducing methane emissions from waste disposal by at least 30% by 2030, in line with Ghana’s commitment under the Global Methane Pledge and the country’s Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). The initiative supports Ghana’s national target of reducing carbon dioxide (CO₂e) emissions by 21,313 kilotonnes (ktCO₂e) by 2030 through sustainable urban solid waste management solutions.

Developed with technical support from the Green Africa Youth Organization (GAYO), the Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives (GAIA), and C40 Cities, Accra’s LOW-Methane Portfolio provides a practical framework for transforming how waste is managed across the city. It places focus on source separation of organic waste and diversion of organic waste, while centering the role of waste pickers and community groups in reducing waste methane.

“Accra’s LOW-Methane Portfolio is proof that when local governments, national, regional, and global organisations pull in the same direction, climate targets can become real action on the ground. The opportunity to cut waste methane at the local level is enormous, and Accra is showing that cities across Africa are ready to move when communities, governments, and partners co-create practical, locally rooted zero waste solutions,”  Desmond Alugnoa, GAIA Africa, Zero Waste & Climate Program Manager. 

Accra’s LOW-Methane Portfolio is built around three strategic goals that together map a clear pathway to a LOW-Methane, zero waste city. 

• First, Accra aims to achieve at least 50% source-separated organic waste collection by 2030 by establishing and enforcing citywide collection systems. 
• Second, the city will build a decentralised organic waste management system capable of diverting at least 30% of organic waste by 2040.
• Third, Accra will invest in people and data by launching comprehensive public education campaigns on the climate and health consequences of food waste and methane pollution, while tracking progress against the Global Methane Pledge and Ghana’s Nationally Determined Contributions.

“We envision an Accra where climate action is more than a policy commitment; it is a promise to our people, our children, and the generations who will inherit this city. We are demonstrating that when communities, institutions, and young people work together, Accra can become a beacon of climate leadership for Ghana, Africa, and the world,” Victor N. Kotey, Deputy Head of Waste Management, Accra Metropolitan Assembly. 

Together, the Accra Portfolio goals are projected to generate 13,500 tonnes of annual methane reduction by 2040, while creating local jobs, improving air quality, strengthening food systems through compost production, and building energy resilience through biogas utilisation.

For GAYO, the Accra LOW-Methane portfolio calls for partnership and investment for a cleaner, healthier, and more sustainable Accra.

“The next phase must focus on scaling decentralized, community-based zero waste systems rooted in local realities, supported by strong city leadership, and sustained through meaningful partnerships and investment,’’ explains Jacob Johnson Attakpah, Zero Waste Director, GAYO.

He added, “At the core of this transition is recognizing waste pickers as essential actors in implementation. Their knowledge, labour, and leadership must be fully integrated into how Accra reduces organic waste from landfill, strengthens resource recovery, and delivers measurable methane reductions  that advance Ghana’s Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).’’ 

The city of Accra was recently  recognized among the United Nations 20 cities moving towards zero waste. The LOW-Methane Portfolio lays the foundation for future collaboration with development partners, investors, philanthropic organizations, civil society, and the private sector to scale up zero waste as a just climate solution for the city. The launch of this portfolio marks a significant milestone in Accra’s climate journey and further positions the city as a climate action leader in Africa.

ENDS. 

ABOUT GAIA 

GAIA is a global network of grassroots groups, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), and individuals, in over 90 countries. The organisation envisions a just, zero-waste world built on respect for ecological limits and community rights, where people are free from the burden of toxic pollution, and resources are sustainably conserved, not burned or dumped. GAIA works to catalyse a global shift towards environmental justice by strengthening grassroots social movements that advance solutions to waste and pollution. www.no-burn.org 

For more information, please contact:

GAIA Africa: Ibrahim Khalilulahi Usman – khalil@no-burn.org 

The post [Media Release] Accra Launches Ambitious LOW-Methane Portfolio to Accelerate Climate Action, Advance Zero Waste, and Build Cleaner Communities first appeared on GAIA.

BLM Issues Records of Decision for Bakersfield and Central Coast Regions, Ignoring State Health Protections and Fracking Ban

BAKERSFIELD, CA — Environmental organizations across California are condemning Trump’s Bureau of Land Management’s issuance of Records of Decision (RODs) finalizing oil and gas leasing and development plans for both the Bakersfield and Central Coast field office regions — a rushed, legally deficient move that ignores California law, bypasses the public, and offers some of the state’s most beloved public lands over to the fossil fuel industry.

The BLM issued the RODs without allowing Governor Newsom the standard 60-day Governor’s Consistency Review period required before a federal land use decision affecting California can be finalized. That review exists precisely to ensure federal actions do not conflict with state law and policy — and this decision is in direct, flagrant conflict with both.

Among the state laws the BLM has chosen to ignore: SB 1137, California’s landmark legislation establishing 3,200-foot health and safety buffer zones between new oil and gas drilling operations and sensitive receptors, including homes, schools, daycares, and hospitals; and California’s ban on fracking, which prohibits the dangerous well stimulation practice that the BLM’s plans contemplate occurring on federal lands within the state.

The BLM’s action comes after nearly half a million public comments were submitted opposing Trump’s “drill baby drill” agenda onshore and offshore across California — one of the largest public comment mobilizations in recent memory. Those voices have been summarily dismissed.

“We submitted hundreds of thousands of comments. We organized. We made our voices heard through every legal channel available to us,” said Benjamin Pitterle, Director of Advocacy and Field Operations, Los Padres ForestWatch. “The BLM’s response was to rush through final decisions before the ink was dry and before the Governor had any opportunity to weigh in. This is what regulatory capture looks like.”

The agency’s plans open more than a million acres of California’s public lands and federal mineral estate to oil and gas leasing across Fresno, Kern, Kings, Madera, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Tulare, Ventura, Alameda, Contra Costa, Monterey, San Benito, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Merced, and San Joaquin counties — threatening communities, wildlife, drinking water, and air quality across some of the most pollution-burdened regions of the state. These are the same communities that already breathe some of the worst air in the nation.

“This insane proposal shows that the federal government is so obsessed with the idea of prolonging the United States’ fossil fuel addiction that it would open up lands within beloved state and regional parks to oil and gas leasing, as well as areas known to be completely devoid of these resources,” said Juan Pablo Galván Martínez, Land Advocacy Director for Save Mount Diablo. “This project increases economic, health and societal harm for everyone by increasing air and water pollution and making more frequent, more widespread, and more severe drought, fire, heat and floods caused by human-caused climate change even worse. We are ready to once again defend the beautiful open space of the Diablo Range and its highly diverse, unique wildlife and natural systems from nonsensical efforts to destroy it.”

This is the third time in a decade the BLM has attempted to ram through oil and gas expansion in the Bakersfield region, and the second such attempt for the Central Coast. Litigation previously halted both. 

“The Trump administration didn’t just ignore the public — it ignored the law,” said Ilonka Zlatar, a climate justice organizer with Oil and Gas Action Network. “Issuing these Records of Decision without the Governor’s Consistency Review, without regard for SB 1137, and without honoring California’s fracking ban is not just procedurally reckless — it is an affront to every Californian who has fought for cleaner air, safer communities, and protected public lands.”

The BLM’s RODs — issued under the Secretary of the Interior’s Order 3418, which directs federal agencies to maximize fossil fuel development on public lands — also rely on analyses that are more than a decade old, failing to account for the accelerating climate crisis, updated public health research on proximity to drilling, or California’s own sweeping policy changes to protect communities from fossil fuel harm.

This leasing plan threatens public lands near Sequoia, Kings Canyon, and Yosemite National Parks; Carrizo Plain National Monument; the Los Padres, Sierra, and Sequoia National Forests; and state and county parks and beaches like Montaña de Oro State Park and Port Hueneme Beach Park — places that millions of Californians depend on for clean water, clean air, outdoor recreation, and refuge.

The Last Chance Alliance is calling on Governor Newsom and state agencies and departments to formally object to these decisions and assert California’s rights under federal and state law.

Members of the Last Chance Alliance and allies said the following:

“We’ll fight this with everything we’ve got,” said Cooper Kass, an attorney for the Center of Biological Diversity. “It’s a reckless decision that shows who’s really calling the shots at the White House. From Ventura to the Bay Area, California’s public lands have always been a refuge for people and wildlife. We’ve got to protect these places and our communities from a government hellbent on lining this toxic industry’s pockets.”

“BLM’s decision to rush this process shows just how much Trump and the fossil fuel industry are walking in lockstep to the detriment of our public lands and environment,” said Nicole Ghio, California Director at Food & Water Watch. “Californians have made it abundantly clear that we don’t want drilling on our public lands and it’s despicable that the Trump Administration is so eager to disregard anyone who dares stand up to it.”

“California leaders won’t meet the people’s climate goals if they allow the Trump administration to vastly expand oil and gas operations on beloved public lands in already burdened areas,” said Miguel Miguel, Director of Sierra Club California. “Affordability goals won’t fare any better. These corporate giveaways are doing nothing to reduce energy prices. They block access to public lands, harm wildlife, destroy cultural resources and leave pollution in the air and water of communities who later often pick up the tab for the mess.”

“By ramping up the timeline the BLM is defying procedures that protect our public lands. America’s public lands are owned by We the People. A right protected by Congress. We the People will not see the profits from the oil and gas industry as we continue to be subjected to price volatility at the gas pump. We will see the devastation and destruction to the California environment. Once the drilling starts those areas will be lost to everyone,” said Ramona Cornell du Houx, Elected Officials to Protect America (EOPA) Communications Director. “Elected Officials to Protect America (EOPA) will do everything within our power to stop this apparent land grab for the oil and gas industry.” 

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LCA LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

We acknowledge that Bakersfield is the traditional home of the Kitanemuk people of the Tejon Tribe. Part of our commitment to decolonizing ourselves, our language, and our organizations is a commitment to learning and better understanding the history of Indigenous Peoples of so-called California, including the history of contact, colonization and the extraction of resources from Indigenous lands which has been part of the continuation of modern colonization.

The post Trump Administration Scoffs at Federal and California Law and Public Process to Hand Public Lands to Big Oil appeared first on Last Chance Alliance.

Celebrating this Year’s Plastic Free July

In the more than ten years since Plastic Free July began, the global movement to reduce plastic pollution has grown into one of the world’s largest environmental campaigns. Every July, millions of people, organizations, businesses, and communities take action to reduce their reliance on single-use plastics while promoting more sustainable, zero waste alternatives.

At GAIA, Plastic Free July is an opportunity to highlight the urgent need to reduce plastic production, expand community-led zero waste solutions, and advocate for policies that protect both people and the planet. Together, we can stop plastic pollution while strengthening local economies, protecting public health, and building resilient communities worldwide.

Learn more about our plastics work

Why Plastic Pollution Is a Global Environmental and Health Crisis

The science is clear: plastic overproduction is causing a worldwide environmental and public health crisis. Plastic pollutes at each stage of its existence, from fossil fuel extraction, manufacturing, use, and disposal in dumps, incinerators, or the open environment.  Microplastics are found contaminating our food, drinking water, and even our bodies, and plastic contains thousands of chemicals, some of which are known to be toxic to humans. Single-use plastic is used for seconds before thrown away, where it will remain forever as trash, or burned in an incinerator– turning it into air pollution and toxic ash or sludge, threatening the health of communities nearby. Much of this waste is also shipped from higher income countries to areas of the Global South who then have to deal with the toxic burden of other people’s pollution, called “waste colonialism.” 

Plastic pollution affects every ecosystem on Earth. From oceans and rivers to agricultural soils and urban communities, plastic waste threatens biodiversity, contaminates food systems, and disproportionately impacts communities already facing environmental injustice. Reducing plastic production is one of the most effective ways to address the problem at its source.

How Plastic Production Contributes to Climate Change

Not only is plastic a threat to our health and environment but plastic is also a significant concern for our climate. More than 99% of plastics are made of fossil fuels, and if plastic’s life cycle were a country, it would be the fifth largest emitter of greenhouse gases in the world, and unless the world takes action, primary plastic production will consume 21-31% of the global carbon budget by 2050. 

Reducing plastic production is not only a waste issue—it is also a climate solution. Every stage of the plastic life cycle generates greenhouse gas emissions, making plastic reduction an essential strategy for meeting global climate goals and protecting future generations.

Learn more about our climate work

The Plastics Treaty: A Battle for Production Reduction

Thanks to the advocacy of Indigenous Peoples and civil society organizations worldwide, in 2021 the United Nations began a process to develop a plastics treaty that addresses pollution at each stage of its life cycle, from extraction to disposal. GAIA members and other civil society leaders have been at each round of negotiations demanding a strong treaty that cuts plastic production. The process has been far from ideal: hundreds of Industry lobbyists are present, and petrochemical producing countries have worked to water down the treaty and stall negotiations. However, a large group of countries, particularly in Africa and other parts of the world most impacted and least responsible for the crisis, have not backed down on such topics as human health, a strong financial mechanism, and of course, reducing plastic production. As negotiations continue, GAIA remains committed to supporting ambitious governments and civil society organizations working toward a legally binding plastics treaty that addresses the full life cycle of plastics—from extraction to disposal—and prioritizes human health, environmental justice, and meaningful reductions in plastic production.

Check out our plastics treaty campaign page!

How GAIA and Communities Are Advancing Zero Waste Solutions

The zero waste solutions to the plastic crisis put forward by GAIA members around the world are gaining momentum: there is now even a United Nations Day of Zero Waste, and more and more countries are recognizing zero waste as a key climate solution. GAIA members are working with their cities to develop community-led zero waste systems that phase out plastic use while strengthening local economies, some of which were recognized by the United Nations in their list 20 Cities Towards Zero Waste this year. To date over 500 cities have committed to zero waste, and over 122 million people are living in a zero waste city. Our Zero Waste Academies have brought together over 500 participants from around the world to learn about how to develop and strengthen their zero waste projects. 

These community-led initiatives demonstrate that zero waste systems are not only possible—they are already delivering measurable environmental, economic, and public health benefits. By investing in waste prevention, reuse, composting and recycling instead of disposal, communities can reduce plastic pollution while creating local jobs and strengthening climate resilience.

Learn more about our zero waste work

Take the Plastic Free July Challenge

To get to a world free from plastic pollution, it’ll take both individual and collective action. Join us in the Plastic Free July challenge! Here are some actions you can take locally and in your daily life to reduce your plastic footprint:

• Bring your own bag to go shopping
• Ask for reusable foodware at your local establishments
• Bring a reusable bottle with you to stay hydrated and go waste-free
• Support local zero waste businesses 
• Choose products with minimal or refillable packaging whenever possible.
• Support policies and businesses that prioritize reuse over single-use plastics.

How You Can Help Reduce Plastic Pollution

Ending plastic pollution requires both individual action and systemic change. Whether you support local zero waste initiatives, advocate for stronger policies, or become part of GAIA’s global network, every action contributes to a healthier and more just future.

• Donate. Your donation supports GAIA and incredible grassroots leaders fighting pollution, building movements, and transforming transforming cities into places centered on community power, worker rights, racial justice, gender equity, sustainability, and resilience. 
• Find a GAIA member in your region. GAIA has members in Asia Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean, Europe, the U.S. and Canada, and Africa. 
• Already with an organization? Become a GAIA member! You will join an alliance of over 1,000 groups in over 100 countries, and gain access to materials that support local campaigning, regional and cross-regional power-building, and support from regional GAIA staff. 

Frequently Asked Questions About Plastic Free July What is Plastic Free July?

Plastic Free July is a global movement that encourages people to reduce their use of single-use plastics and adopt more sustainable habits throughout July and beyond.

Why is plastic pollution harmful?

Plastic pollution contaminates ecosystems, threatens wildlife, contributes to climate change, and exposes people to microplastics and harmful chemicals throughout the plastic life cycle.

What are microplastics?

Microplastics are tiny plastic particles that have been found in oceans, rivers, soil, drinking water, food, and even the human body. They are created as larger plastic items break down over time.

How does plastic contribute to climate change?

More than 99% of plastics are made from fossil fuels. Greenhouse gas emissions occur during extraction, production, transportation, use, and disposal, making plastic pollution closely linked to the climate crisis.

What is the Plastics Treaty?

The plastics treaty is an international effort led through the United Nations to create legally binding measures that address plastic pollution across the entire plastic life cycle.

What is zero waste?

According to the Zero Waste International Alliance, zero waste is the conservation of all resources by means of responsible production, consumption, reuse, and recovery of products, packaging, and materials without burning and with no discharges to land, water, or air that threaten the environment or human health. Zero waste is both a goal and a plan of action to achieve it. 

Plastic Free July reminds us that ending plastic pollution requires both everyday actions and ambitious regional and international policies. Communities around the world are already proving that zero waste systems, reduced plastic production, and environmental justice go hand in hand.

By supporting local solutions, advocating for a strong plastics treaty, and choosing to reduce plastic waste in our daily lives, we can help create healthier communities and a more sustainable future.

Join GAIA in building a world beyond plastic pollution—not just in July, but every day of the year.

The post Plastic Free July: How to Reduce Plastic Pollution with Zero Waste Solutions first appeared on GAIA.

Contact: olivia@climatejusticealliance.org

Says Ruling Puts Corporate Interests Over Public Health

In reaction to today’s Supreme Court ruling, shielding Monsanto from liability over harms caused by its popular weed killer Roundup, and effectively ending thousands of lawsuits from people who claim that RoundUp ingredients gave them cancer, Climate Justice Alliance legislative director Mar Zepeda issued the following statement:  

“Today’s Supreme Court ruling is another victory for corporate polluters and another setback for the communities forced to live with the consequences.

“By shielding pesticide manufacturers from failure-to-warn claims, the Court has weakened one of the few avenues communities have to seek justice and demand transparency. It will now be nearly impossible for communities, farmworkers, and consumers to fight back against businesses that knowingly sell products that can make us sick. The burden of these decisions will continue to fall hardest on farmworkers, Indigenous peoples, Black communities, rural communities, and low-income communities that have long been treated as sacrifice zones.

“Allowing corporations to withhold information about dangerous chemicals and toxic ingredients, including those associated with cancer and other life-threatening illnesses, is a profound betrayal of our trust. This decision does not erase the harm caused by toxic exposure, nor does it end our fight. People have a right to know what they’re being exposed to, a right to seek justice when they’re harmed, and a right to build a food system that values life over corporate profit.

“This ruling sends a dangerous message: that corporate interests matter more than people’s right to know and right to be protected. 

“No court can stop communities from organizing for a future free from toxic pollution. We will continue fighting until people, not polluters and chemical giants, shape the future of our land, food, and health.”

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The post Climate Justice Alliance Condemns Supreme Court Decision Shielding Monsanto from Accountability appeared first on Climate Justice Alliance.

Melody Ifechi Enyinnayaat at the Zero Waste Forum in Türkiye CODAF Nigeria, Zero Waste Farmers Network CODAF Nigeria, Zero Waste Parliament CODAF Nigeria, Waste Picker Organising

By Melody Ifechi Enyinnaya, Community Development Advocacy Foundation

Every evening in Nigeria’s cities, smoke rises from open dumpsites. It is easy to mistake it for burning waste, but it’s not. It is methane, one of the most potent greenhouse gases, silently escaping into our atmosphere at an alarming rate from mountains of rotting organic waste. 

Nigeria generates between 25 and 32 million tons of municipal solid waste every year. Less than a third gets collected. Almost none of it gets properly treated. The rest ends up in open dumps, where it rots, releasing gases that accelerate the very climate crisis our communities are already battling. I know this, not just from research. I know it from standing in those communities.

Between 5 and 7 June 2026, I was in Istanbul, Turkey, to attend the Zero Waste Forum, a global gathering of waste practitioners, scientists, policymakers, and community advocates. 

For well over three days and twenty-two sessions, I heard the same urgent message repeated from every corner of the world: the waste sector is one of the fastest, most cost-effective places to act on climate change. And the action needed is not complicated. It is mostly being blocked.

‘’The waste sector is one of the fastest, most cost-effective places to act on climate change’’

One session’s title stayed with me long after I left the room: “Organic Waste Is a Methane Story, Not a Waste Story”. The science is stark. When food scraps, market waste, and agricultural residues are dumped in landfills/dumpsites, rather than composted or reused, they decompose without oxygen and release methane gas. The fastest way to reduce these emissions is simply to stop putting organic waste in the ground. This is not a solution for tomorrow, but for now, because there indeed is a climate emergency.

Back home in Nigeria, some communities in Lagos, Abuja, Benin City, and Jos are already doing exactly that. These communities in the different cities are not communities that appear on international climate agenda. They are agrarian communities where households generate organic waste daily, including food scraps, crop residue, and market leftovers, and where, until recently, this waste had one destination: the dumpsite.

In 2024, members of the Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives (GAIA AFRICA) in Nigeria, CODAF, GKF, SEDi, PAVE, CfEW and SRADev launched the Multi-Solving Action for Methane Reduction in Nigeria (MAMRN) project in communities across Lagos, Abuja, Benin City and Jos. The name describes exactly what the project stands for; it solves multiple problems at once. Climate, Waste, Livelihoods, Food security, and Governance all through one system.

At the centre of that system are the Material Recovery Facilities (MRFs), purpose-built community hubs where household and market organic waste is collected, sorted, and transformed. Organic matter becomes compost and animal feed. Plastics are recovered for recycling. Nothing goes to the dumpsite. The methane that would have risen from those rotting heaps of waste simply never forms. But the facility is only part of the story.

In Istanbul, Elizabeth Nsimadala, President, Eastern Africa Farmers Federation (EAFF), made a statement that stopped me mid-note: “Zero waste is in the soil, not in the trash”.

In Nigeria, smallholder farmers are being trained through the MAMRN project to compost organic waste rather than burn or dump it. When a farmer composts crop residue instead of setting it alight, three things happen simultaneously: methane emissions fall, chemical fertiliser costs decrease, and soil health improves. These are not three separate wins. They are one decision, understood correctly. The farmers in the MAMRN project do not need to be convinced that their soil matters. They already know it. 

What the MAMRN project provides them is technical support, community infrastructure, and market connections that make composting economically rational, not just environmentally admirable. This is what the global conversation in Istanbul kept circling back to: the most effective zero waste solutions are not the ones imported from outside. They are the ones built around what communities already know, already need, and already have the capacity to do.

There is a community of people in every Nigerian city who have been practising resource recovery for decades without recognition, equipment, or protection. They are Waste Pickers. Every day, they move through markets and streets collecting plastics, metals, and organic matter that would otherwise end up in a dumpsite. 

By one estimate, informal waste workers divert millions of tonnes of recyclable material from landfills globally every year. They do it without government remuneration. Without a formal contract. Without data being kept on their contribution.

“Zero waste is in the soil, not in the trash”, Elizabeth Nsimadala, President, (EAFF)

In Istanbul, a session on Global South zero waste leadership described waste pickers plainly: they are not a problem to be managed. They are climate actors. They deserve recognition, integration, and resources.

MAMRN project implementing organisations began to drive this work seriously prior to Istanbul.

At the launch of the Zero Waste Parliament in Lagos, a community governance body was created under the MAMRN project to give residents a formal voice in waste policy. The President of the Association of Scraps and Waste Pickers of Lagos was elected as its first Speaker. Not as a symbolic gesture. But as a statement of fact, the people who understand waste best must lead the institutions that govern it. 

The Parliament brings together waste pickers, farmers, women, youth, and community leaders to identify problems, propose solutions, and engage government institutions and policymakers on the policies that affect their communities. It is not waiting to be consulted. It is leading, and when the Parliament engages government agencies on waste policies, it is not asking for a favour. It is demanding accountability. This is what zero waste governance looks like when it is built from the ground up.

When people hear the phrase “zero waste”, they often imagine a distant, utopian future. A lifestyle trend for the privileged. A technical aspiration that requires perfect infrastructure and unlimited funding. The MAMRN project sites are evidence that it is none of those things.

Zero waste in those communities looks like a market woman bringing her food scraps to the MRF instead of throwing them into an open drain. It looks like a farmer spreading compost instead of buying chemical fertilizer that they cannot afford. It looks like a waste picker sitting in a Parliament chamber, putting a name and a face to the tonnes of material he recovers every week. It looks like a community that has decided its waste is a resource and built a system to prove it. None of this happened because the government mandated it. It happened because a community was organised, informed, and supported to act.

We will not pretend the system is complete or that the challenges are solved. Nigeria’s waste policies remain fragmented. Enforcement is weak. And the climate finance that could scale projects like MAMRN from one community to many more remains largely out of reach for frontline organisations.

In Istanbul, I sat in a session titled “Governing Zero Waste: From Political Commitment to Climate Delivery”. The core message was uncomfortable: governments have made enough commitments. The problem is delivery. Civil society cannot afford to wait for political will; it must build it.

Nigeria has pledged methane reduction targets under the Global Methane Pledge. It has signed international climate agreements. But commitments made in conference rooms do not move waste off dumpsites. Community-built systems do. 

The MAMRN project is proof that those systems can exist. An MRF, A Zero Waste Farmers Network, A Zero Waste Parliament, Zero Waste Ambassadors moving through households, changing how families think about what they throw away. These are not pilot schemes waiting for government approval. They are working models waiting to be scaled.

Scaling them requires money, and the global system is failing communities here.

At the Forum, every conversation about finance ended the same way: the money exists, but it is not reaching the organisations doing the work. The Green Climate Fund, multilateral climate mechanisms, and circular economy investment are operational tools. 

But the frontline groups in Nigeria and across Africa that are building zero waste systems from scratch face structural barriers that keep that finance out of reach. National governments receive the funds. The funds do not reach communities. This has to change. Not some time in the future, but now. Because the climate window is closing, and the solutions are already here. 

The zero waste transition will not happen at scale until climate finance flows to the communities already doing the work, not just to the governments that promise to.

Nigeria does not need to wait for a perfect policy environment or unlimited resources to begin solving its waste crisis. It needs to scale what is already working. The MAMRN project is proof that community-based zero waste systems are not aspirational. 

They are operational, they reduce methane, they strengthen livelihoods, they build governance, they include the people most often left out of the climate conversation, including waste pickers, smallholder farmers, market women and put them at the centre of the solution.

What the global community did in Istanbul was name, with great precision and urgency, the future we need. What GAIA’s Nigeria members and the community we serve are doing is building it. The zero waste future is not waiting to be invented. In pockets of Lagos, Abuja, Jos, Benin-City and in communities across the Global South that the world rarely looks at, it is already alive. 

In Nigeria, the zero waste future is not coming. It is here and working.

That is the kind of future worth fighting for.

ENDS.

The post In Istanbul, The World Talked About Zero Waste; In Nigeria, We Are Building It first appeared on GAIA.

A hopeful narrative in need of consistent implementation

This past June 5–7, GAIA was present at the second Global Zero Waste Forum, organized by the Zero Waste Foundation in Istanbul, Türkiye, under the theme “Road to Antalya: Zero Waste as Climate Action.” The attendance was massive, with over 5,000 participants from 183 countries. Keynote presentations were delivered by Türkiye’s President Recep Erdoğan, First Lady Emine Erdoğan (Honorary President of the Zero Waste Foundation), and Samed Ağırbaş (President of the Foundation and Climate High-Level Champion for COP31).

For those working to transition from linear waste management systems to zero waste, the Forum was a pleasant surprise. The program was well-designed and reflected the true spirit of zero waste by emphasizing upstream interventions and framing zero waste as a driver of systemic change. Discussions on reuse, repair, financing the transition to zero waste, and recognizing waste pickers were among the essential conversations needed to move away from wasteful societies. It was refreshing to attend a mainstream waste event where the focus was not on landfills, incinerators, or extravagant and expensive methods for processing single-use plastics that should not be produced in the first place. Neil Khor, Advisor to the President of the UN Habitat Assembly and to the Zero Waste Foundation, summed up the spirit of the Forum when he stated: “Landfill and incineration are not zero waste.”

It is also promising to see a UN member state advocating for zero waste and gaining traction among other governments and actors in the waste and climate sectors. Although there is still no universally accepted definition of zero waste, the approach presented at the Forum offers hope by clearly moving in the right direction. The zero waste movement’s task now is to advocate for this orientation to remain on track and avoid being co-opted by the waste management industry and others seeking to maintain the status quo of linear waste systems.

The strong connection between zero waste and climate was another major strength of the Forum. Following the COP31 Presidency’s push to place zero waste as a top priority in the Climate Action Agenda, the Forum made significant progress in demonstrating how zero waste is a cross-cutting strategy for climate change mitigation and adaptation. Several panels explored how action can be taken at different levels—from cities to international agencies.

However, the lack of local civil society representatives among speakers and participants was obvious and regrettable. Many organizations and research groups are doing fantastic work on waste and climate change and should have been invited. Their participation would have enriched the panels with real-world experiences and knowledge, while also paving the way for zero waste implementation in Türkiye. After the Forum, many GAIA members and allies met with the İstanbul Geri Dönüşüm İşçileri Derneği (Istanbul’s Recycling Workers Association – ISGDIDER) at one of the materials recovery facilities they manage. We learned firsthand about the experience of those who sustain the country’s recycling system despite significant challenges and lack of recognition. These workers’ experience is central to advancing zero waste in Türkiye, and it would have been invaluable for Forum participants to learn about their work and hear their perspectives.

The Forum left many of us with a sense of hope, grounded in the right focus of the discussions: viewing zero waste as a way to drive systemic change and address climate change. Yet, important gaps remain: How does this translate into practice? How is Türkiye advancing zero waste implementation internally? As Lhermie Areja, a government official from Siquijor, Philippines, stated at the Forum: “Zero waste is not a dream. It is a decision.” And as noted in the declaration signed by over 120 civil society organizations, the zero waste agenda must reinforce, not replace, a binding global roadmap for fossil fuel phase-out.

The run-up to COP31 offers Türkiye an opportunity to build a zero waste legacy internally and demand greater consistency in taking action and creating pathways for implementing commitments. For instance, the target announced by the COP31 Presidency to “halve the growth in global waste by 2035” is directionally correct but lacks the clarity needed for policy credibility. If COP31 is serious about a zero waste agenda, success must be measured in concrete outcomes: absolute reductions in waste generation, measurable methane cuts from organic waste, reduced plastic production, a shift of climate finance toward zero waste implementation, and a just transition for waste pickers and waste workers.

#image_title #image_title #image_title GAIA’s Cecilia Allen Recycling is garbage without waste pickers! Zero Waste Stories from the Global South: Nipe Fagio in Tanzania, Instituto Polis in Brazil, Mother Earth Foundation in the Philippines Zero Waste Europe’s Joan Marc Simon GAIA Delegation Site Visit to an IAWP Affiliate Facility

The post GAIA at the Global Zero Waste Forum first appeared on GAIA.

Lanzamiento estudio de caso. ©RADA, Temuco.

La comuna impulsó una transformación de su sistema de gestión de residuos basada en compostaje, reciclaje, educación ambiental y participación ciudadana. Aplicando la estrategia “basura cero”, ha reducido la disposición final de residuos, pasando de 3.797 toneladas en 2021 a 1.318 toneladas en 2022, disminuyendo además en un 65% el gasto por la gestión de residuos enviados al relleno sanitario de Los Ángeles.

23 de junio, 2026

El nuevo estudio de caso “Melipeuco Cero Basura” elaborado por la Red de Acción por los Derechos Ambientales, documenta cómo esta comuna de La Araucanía logró avanzar hacia un modelo de gestión de residuos basado en la prevención, el reciclaje y el compostaje comunitario.

Antes de 2021, Melipeuco enfrentaba una serie de problemas asociados a la recolección y disposición de residuos. Cuando el único camión que había para la recolección domiciliaria fallaba, las bolsas de basura se acumulaban por días o semanas. Además, la comuna contaba con un vertedero municipal sin autorización sanitaria ubicado dentro de la comunidad mapuche Juan Meli, lo que llevó a que fuera uno de los casos denunciados por racismo ambiental ante el Comité para la Eliminación de la Discriminación Racial de la ONU el año 2007.

La situación cambió cuando el municipio impulsó una nueva estrategia, orientada a recuperar el control público de la gestión de residuos y avanzar hacia un modelo de basura cero. 

Entre las primeras medidas se incluyó la administración municipal directa de la recolección y transporte de residuos domiciliarios, lo que permitió reducir significativamente las cantidades enviadas a disposición final y disminuir los costos asociados para la comuna.

El mayor avance del programa se dio en el primer año, cuando la disposición final de residuos pasó de 3.797 toneladas en 2021 a 1.318 toneladas en 2022. El informe también muestra que el presupuesto destinado a esta gestión se redujo en un 65% entre 2021 a 2022, equivalente a un ahorro de más 90 millones de pesos chilenos (≈ USD 95.000) anuales por concepto de residuos enviados al vertedero de Los Ángeles. 

“Las cifras demuestran que con voluntad política y generando los espacios adecuados para la educación ambiental y la recolección diferenciada no se necesitan grandes periodos de tiempo para avanzar en la reducción de la basura. También se demuestra con esta experiencia que no se necesitan grandes inversiones y que la reducción de la disposición final se traduce inmediatamente en ahorro en ese mismo ítem, por lo que cualquier inversión inicial se compensa con ese ahorro y finalmente el gasto municipal se hace más eficiente. En vez de gastar dinero en trasladar y enterrar basura, se gasta en compostar, reciclar y educar a la ciudadanía”, señaló Alejandra Parra de la Red de Acción por los Derechos Ambientales. 

En mayo de 2025 el municipio firmó un decreto mediante el cual se aprobó el programa “Melipeuco cero basura” destinado a promover la reducción de la generación de residuos sólidos en la comuna, fomentar el uso de envases retornables, reforzar y ampliar la separación en origen mediante un sistema de recolección selectiva e involucrar a la comunidad en programas de reciclaje y compostaje comunitario, entre otras medidas.

Actualmente, Melipeuco cuenta con un centro de acopio que funciona como punto limpio comunal, una red de 30  puntos verdes urbanos y un punto limpio móvil para las zonas rurales. Para la recolección de residuos orgánicos, se cuenta además con un carro eléctrico que realiza recorridos casa por casa dos veces por semana. 

La estrategia ha involucrado a múltiples áreas municipales, incluyendo Medio Ambiente y Cambio Climático, Educación, Finanzas, Comunicaciones y SECPLAN. Además, se ha impartido educación ambiental en establecimientos educacionales y programas comunitarios.

Según el estudio, los habitantes participantes han observado una disminución significativa de los residuos que generan en sus hogares, valorando positivamente los cambios implementados por el municipio.

Finalmente, Enrique Pizarro de la RADA señaló que “con este estudio de caso queremos mostrar que implementar estrategias que apunten a Basura Cero no solo es posible en contextos de países desarrollados o comunas con mucho dinero, es posible en cualquier contexto siempre y cuando exista la voluntad y convicción”.

Sobre el estudio

El estudio de caso fue elaborado por la Red de Acción por los Derechos Ambientales (RADA), organización social que desde el 2006 promueve y defiende el medio ambiente como un derecho humano fundamental. Su trabajo se desarrolla principalmente en la región de La Araucanía.

The post Melipeuco se consolida como referente basura cero y ahorra más de 90 millones de pesos anuales por la gestión de basura que no se envía al relleno sanitario first appeared on GAIA.

June 6, 2026

Read new San Francisco Gate story:

“US Navy finds radiological material in unauthorized storage in San Francisco”

June 2026:

Bayview Hunters Point Community Call to Action and Demands issued by Greenaction and the Marie Harrison Community Foundation, Inc.

June 24th noon rally at San Francisco City Hall to support community demands for health, justice, and full cleanup of all contamination at the Hunters Point Naval Shipyard Superfund Site.

June 24, 2026 Call to Action for Bayview Hunters Point

Check out “Censored News” coverage of May 16

Protest in Utah against Energy Fuels uranium mines and mill

“CENSORED NEWS: Shut Down Energy Fuels — Uranium Mining and Radioactive Dumping on Native People”

May 26, 2026: Read Truthout investigative article featuring Veronica Aguirre, Greenaction’s Central Valley Organizer and Program Coordinator:

“Residents of polluted areas say Trump’s rollbacks are getting really scary.”

Click here to read the article on Truthout.org

May 14, 2026:

See CBS TV coverage of

Greenaction Blasting Navy’s latest radioactive scandal at Hunters Point Naval Shipyard Superfund Site

Click here to watch

May 14, 2026—Politico’s Eric He reports on Gov. Newsom’s May Revise budget proposal, which calls for deferring $3.9 billion in Proposition 98 school funding despite revenues coming in $16.5 billion above projections. The move has drawn swift condemnation from teachers unions, school boards, and Democratic lawmakers who argue the constitutionally-guaranteed funding is urgently needed — including by Los Angeles Unified, which is counting on state dollars to honor $1.2 billion in new union contracts. On the positive side for education advocates, the governor preserved $1 billion for community schools expansion. Public Advocates Managing Attorney John Affeldt weighed in on the deferral, saying that while restraints are warranted, it’s “not a crazy maneuver given the volatility of our revenue picture.”

Read the Story

The post Politico Pro: Newsom sticks with controversial funding deferral in mixed-bag schools budget appeared first on Public Advocates.

May 15, 2026 Read the story on MSN.com Greenaction blasts the Navy over continued botched “cleanup” at the Hunters Point Naval Shipyard Superfund Site Click here to read the Article on MSN.com

May 14 2026

Bay City News Article on the Latest Scandal with the U.S. Navy and the Hunters Point Naval Shipyard Superfund Site

Click Here to read the Bay City News Article

“SF: Cabinet Storing Radiological Materials Discovered At Former Hunters Point Naval Shipyard”

May 15, 2026 Read Capital & Main news story with Greenaction and allies: California Hazardous Waste Rules Criticized as Years Late and Polluter Friendly

May 1, 2026—EdSource reporter John Fensterwald covers Governor Newsom’s May Revision and its mixed implications for California schools—including a higher COLA, a historic $2.4 billion special education increase, and a $5 billion discretionary block grant, offset by the governor’s continued withholding of $3.9 billion in Proposition 98 funds that school groups say belongs in classrooms now. Managing Attorney John Affeldt is quoted warning that the budget’s reliance on AI-driven tax revenues is not a stable foundation: “Our state cannot continue to rely on temporary AI stock market bubbles.” Affeldt calls for more robust, permanent revenue streams—and makes clear that the same teachers being asked to transform students’ lives are being priced out of the communities they serve.”

Read the Story

The post Edsource: California schools could get billions more in Newsom’s final budget plan — with one catch appeared first on Public Advocates.

May 13, 2026,

Moab Times Independent article
“Protest Planned near La Sal over Uranium Mining Concerns”

https://www.moabtimes.com/articles/protest-planned-near-la-sal-over-uranium-mining-concerns/