Under evaluation

Uganda Plastic Waste Recovery Infrastructure & Recycling Data (2026)

Rapid urbanisation around the Lake Victoria basin with limited downstream processing capacity and high sachet packaging use.

Model updated 2026

Country totals across profiled cities

Cities profiled
1Urban agglomerations modelled in this directory
Population covered
3.6million
Unmanaged plastic
135t / day
Informal collectors
3,000Estimated workforce already handling this material

Policy context: Kaveera (polythene) restrictions in force with partial enforcement; national plastics action plan under development.

City profiles

Uganda — modelled unmanaged plastic leakage by city
CityPopulationUnmanaged plastic (t/day)PET (t/day)LDPE film (t/day)Hub target
Kampala3.65M135.144.643.2146

Methodology

How these figures are produced

  • Urban population from national statistics offices and UN-Habitat urban agglomeration estimates.
  • Municipal solid waste per capita from World Bank What a Waste 2.0 income-band and country figures.
  • Plastic share of the waste stream from national waste characterisation studies where available, otherwise the regional band (8–13%).
  • Unmanaged share from UNEP and OECD mismanaged-waste ratios for the country's collection coverage.
  • Polymer split from published characterisation of East and North African urban packaging streams.
  • Hub targets model one community aggregation point per ~25,000 residents; collector counts follow published informal-sector surveys.

These are transparent desk estimates, not field measurements. AfriloopX is pre-pilot: any figure will be replaced with primary, weighbridge-verified data once collection operates.

Working on plastic recovery in Uganda?

We share the full assumption set, source list and pilot design framework with municipal, donor and corporate partners.

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