Policy Briefs – Rwanda

Examples of successful policy change

Rwanda World Environment Day campaign

1. Rwanda Environment Management Authority (REMA)

As a public institution responsible for advising the government on policies, strategies and legislation related to the management of the environment and an enforcing agency, REMA has undertaken various successful initiatives or activities related to plastic pollution prevention, utilising various communication strategies to influence policy and behaviour change.

These have included:

• High-level conference addressing plastic pollution of 29 May 2018.

• Beat plastic pollution walk of 3 June 2018.

• Direct communication with the public during inspection and monitoring of the implementation of the current plastic law (e. g: 10-11 September 2020).

• Collaboration with various public and plastic institutions in the fight against plastic pollution.

• Sensitization of laws and regulations governing plastics among the public using different communication channels: direct presentations, mass media (TV, Radio, etc.)

• REMA played a major role in adoption of Law no 17/2019 of 10/08/2019 relating to the prohibition of manufacturing, importation, use and sale of plastic carry bags and single-use plastic items.

2. Cleaner Production & Climate Innovation Centre (CPCIC)

CPCIC provides policy guidance based on interactions with the private sector especially with regards to regulatory requirements. Some examples include the following:

• CPCIC organized a workshop on “Identified Industrial Symbiotic Exchanges for Circular Economy projects”, 3 March 2021. Its achievements included identifying opportunities for industrial symbiosis related to plastic waste management, eg. turning plastic waste into plastic paves or polythene tubes and PET bottles waste into PET pre-forms.

• CPCIC used various communication channels including direct presentations and discussions, mass media (tv, radio, press), social media (twitter, flikr) and street advertisement (banners). These contributed to legal and policy framework implementation and enforcement, encouraging behaviour change.