Arua, Uganda: Recycle and Green Arua

In 2022, Arua, Uganda, was selected as a grantee of the Global Cities Fund for Migrants and Refugees (GCF), the MMC’s instrument to channel international funding directly to cities to implement inclusive projects of their own design. 

With support from the GCF, the City of Arua is creating employment opportunities for migrants and refugees in Uganda’s first municipal recycling program while introducing environmentally sustainable practices and curricula in schools, health centers, and other public institutions.

Arua is located in northwestern Uganda, not far from the country’s borders with the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan. Besides being a destination for refugees from neighboring countries, Arua attracts many rural migrants seeking economic opportunities that have diminished in agricultural areas in recent years due to climate change.

Arua’s waste management system and the environmental awareness of residents have not kept pace with the city’s growth, resulting in a rise in the volume of solid waste. Without practical disposal options, unrecycled waste, especially PET plastics, are clogging drainage ditches and contaminating the environment.

Arua used the GCF grant to introduce recycling practices to its residents and create employment opportunities for migrants and refugees. The city hired migrants and refugees to lead Environmental Clubs at schools, where over 1,500 students have planted trees across 40 schools and public institutions.

The city also established Uganda’s first municipally-run recycling plant. The city distributed plastic waste receptacles and many migrants and refugees have mobilized to form plastic collection teams to transport plastic from households to local collection centers. The central recycling plant will share a space with ongoing composting operations and will be powered through new solar panels, purchased through the GCF.

Environmental awareness campaigns to encourage residents to use the plastic waste receptacles and take care of the tree seedlings are ongoing. These efforts will improve social cohesion, economic opportunity, and environmental sustainability in the city.

Arua City’s GCF project generated economic opportunities for migrants and refugees while pioneering climate adaptation and mitigation practices. 

Through the “Recycle and Green Arua” initiative, the city established the country’s first municipally-led recycling plant on the premises of its existing composting plant. Arua’s GCF grant also funded the procurement and installation of solar panels for the plant, supplying solar energy to both recycling and composting operations. Plastic waste can now be deposited in one of 65 new recycling containers distributed throughout the city and then brought to the recycling plant, where new machinery helps the city clean, crush, and bale PET plastics. Once fully operational, recycling operations will provide stable employment to 16 residents, more than half of whom are migrants and refugees. In addition to delivering essential sanitation services to over 1,000 households (ten percent of the city’s population) and boosting the local economy, Arua’s recycling plant is setting a precedent for climate-smart waste management: other Ugandan cities have contacted the city hoping to replicate their promising model recycling plant on the premises of its existing composting plant. 

To complement improvements to Arua’s waste management system and improve climate conditions in the city overall, Arua hired eight migrants, refugees, and marginalized community members to lead Environmental Clubs in schools across the city. Over 1,500 students from these clubs planted 10,000 indigenous and climate-adapted tree species at forty schools and public institutions, increasing Arua City’s green coverage by eight hectares. Students also received training on environmental conservation and sustainability, including sustainable waste management practices. Training sessions and Club meetings led by migrants and refugees provided a basis for students to then serve as environmental stewards in their schools and neighborhoods.  

The successes of cleaning and greening operations have already demonstrated improvements to the city’s public spaces — improving air quality, increasing biodiversity, managing stormwater, preventing the spread of disease, and helping to mitigate the urban heat island effect. In addition to making Arua a healthier and more welcoming place for all by involving migrants, refugees, and receiving communities in these activities, the city strengthened public buy-in for its sustainable future.  

To further support Arua’s ambitions to recycle 100% of PET plastics in the city, the city plans to upskill migrants, refugees, and marginalized community members, expanding access to good green jobs in the renewable waste sector.

Building on the early success of Arua’s GCF project, the city government is seeking international support to ensure plant operations are sustainable and Arua’s migrant, displaced, and marginalized communities continue to access good green jobs:

1.  Ensure projects and programs that exemplify urban innovation and inclusivity in the green and just transition are financially sustainable. The city is seeking A) companies interested in purchasing cleaned, crushed, and bailed PET plastic; and B) financial support to supply water to the recycling and composting facilities. These contracts will help the city secure an initial return on investment so that it can continue to offer stable formal employment contracts to migrants and refugees in the green economy. The city is also seeking financial and/or in-kind support to install rainwater harvesting infrastructure at schools and hospitals. This will improve survival rates amongst the young trees that were planted by Environmental Clubs as well as bolster the resilience of environmental stewardship initiatives among children and newcomers to Arua City.

2.  Provide migrants, refugees, and young people access to training and funding/financing opportunities that enable them to establish businesses and generate livelihood-sustaining income. Arua is seeking support from financial institutions to provide A) grants and loans to entrepreneurs looking to start a small business; and B) in-kind business development and management training to aspiring entrepreneurs.
3. Institutionalize social protections for migrants and refugees in Arua City. Arua is seeking financial support to build a new Multi-Purpose Resource Center, which will serve as a one stop center for migrants, refugees, and marginalized youth to access social services – such as refugee registration, work authorization, and residency permits – as well as learning facilities and financial literacy and business support services. This project will be co-financed by UNCDF.