By Etienne Mainimo Mengnjo
The Cameroon government through the Ministry of Environment, Nature Protection and Sustainable Development has launched the National Waste Exchange (BAD), an electronic platform designed to transform millions of tons of refuse into industrial raw materials.
Minister Hélé Pierre chaired the launch ceremony on Feb. 12 in Yaoundé. During the event, officials unveiled the platform’s visual identity and operational roadmap, signaling the project’s transition from the planning phase to nationwide implementation.
The Minister described the launch as a milestone in waste management, noting that Cameroonians have struggled for years with the environmental and health impacts of unmanaged trash.
“This National Waste Exchange is the first in history because the advantages are enormous,” Minister Hélé Pierre said. “We have now managed to put in place a platform that ensures the waste of some becomes material for others. We are going to see gains in both health and finance.”
The Minister noted that while the project has been in development since 2016, the exchange is now fully equipped in terms of governance and political backing to succeed.
Rebecca Essomba, Director General of the National Waste Exchange, detailed how the platform will work in practice explaining that the digital interface allows stakeholders to post offers and needs, facilitating direct transactions between waste suppliers and industrial buyers.
“The platform is for those who own waste, those who need waste, and those who transport it,” Rebecca Essomba said. “It will animate a waste stock market where supply and demand meets.”
Rebecca Essomba added that reinjecting waste into the industrial circuit would support import substitution policies by lowering production costs for local manufacturers. She emphasised that the exchange has not placed limits on waste volumes, encouraging entities within the ecosystem to organize through new partnerships.
On his part, Dr. Daniel Edjo’o, the City Mayor of Ebolowa, hailed the platform indicating that this would help clean up urban centers while providing much-needed revenue.
“We can no longer talk about waste from this point on; it is more about capital,” Edjo’o said. “Our cities will become cleaner, and through this, they will be able to make a little money. You know that the city cash desks are not always full.”
Gregory Mewanu, the City Mayor of Kumba also appreciated the platform calling the initiative a “Stock Exchange for Waste” that arrived at a critical time for major hubs like Yaounde, Douala, and Bafoussam with Kumba not left out.
“It is going to be a medium where we can actually find financial solutions to solving the problems of waste. This will not only enable us to clean our cities while respecting hygienic conditions and addressing climate change, but it will also provide the funding we need to transform waste into something useful,” Gregory Mewanu said.
According to government data presented at the ceremony, Cameroon’s waste generation doubled from three million tons in 2016 to six million tons in 2025. This includes 600,000 tons of plastic waste, the majority of which currently ends up in the environment.
The National Waste Exchange was first proposed a decade ago during the National Waste Conference held in Yaoundé in April 2016.
