GAIA's African Youth Taskforce Leads Waste Solutions Locally and Internationally

Earth Rising is proud to support the work of the Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives (GAIA)’s African Youth Taskforce. GAIA is a global network built on community knowledge and local expertise. Together, this network is working toward a just, zero-waste world that respects ecological limits and community rights, while ensuring that resources are sustainably used and disposed of (not burned or dumped) so that all people can live free from toxic pollution. GAIA is moving our world away from a linear, extractive economy toward circular systems that support people’s right to health and safety.

In 2025, Earth Rising supported GAIA’s African Youth Task Force. Over the course of the year, the task force empowered African youth leaders with the knowledge and skills necessary to implement and manage projects focused on sustainable environmental practices in their own communities, while also strengthening African youth’s capacity to participate in international and national movements for environmental justice.

Together, the Task Force helped write the Youth Statement for INC 5.2. The Youth Statement argued for the removal of the proposed Waste-to-Energy solution from the Global Plastics Treaty. Waste-to-Energy requires burning trash in incinerators, producing pollution that leads to negative health outcomes. The Youth Statement received endorsements from 93 organizations and 147 individuals across 51 countries worldwide. The statement was delivered by Youth Task Force member Janna Radi at the African Ministerial Conference on the Environment. Although the negotiations did not produce the outcomes activists had hoped for, significant progress was still made through these efforts. More than 100 countries have declared their support for cuts to plastic production.

In addition to drafting and delivering the Youth Statement, the Task Force also held the Zero Waste Academy last summer. GAIA Africa staff guided 40 participants from 18 countries through six weeks of online learning sessions and one week of in-person training in Durban, South Africa. Together, they studied both the formal and informal waste sectors within their local areas, explored various composting techniques and strategies for sorting organics, developed campaign strategies, and designed project plans tailored to the waste management needs of their communities. From the 40 participants, 16 projects were selected for funding.

To learn more about the statement you can watch this linked video. 

To learn more about the academy and one participant’s experience you can read here.