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Active Projects
Education and Awareness Programs:
Nationwide Waste Education Campaign (NWEC)
Since 2019
The project addresses the escalating plastic waste challenge in Ghana, driven primarily by limited public education and inadequate waste management infrastructure. RUG firmly believes that local environmental problems require local solutions, empowering young Ghanaians to become change-makers through innovative education initiatives.
Targeting young people aged 9 to 17 in Primary, Junior, and Secondary Schools as well as local communities in the major waste hotspots of Kumasi, Accra, and Cape Coast, NWEC promotes responsible plastic waste management practices. The campaign focuses on reducing plastic consumption, encouraging reuse, and improving recycling efficiency through practical approaches such as source segregation of PET bottles and water sachets for upcycling and recycling.
To support this effort, RUG has developed a comprehensive NWEC Handbook that outlines principles and practices for responsible plastic waste management. This handbook aims to enrich teaching and learning experiences across schools in Ghana, complementing existing curricula and fostering environmental stewardship among youth.
Sponsor: genialsozial
Entrepreneurship Programs:
RUG Incubation Program
Since 2019
The program empowers young Ghanaians to tackle the country’s pressing waste challenges while creating sustainable livelihoods. Targeting the high youth unemployment rate, the program supports early-stage social entrepreneurs between the ages of 18 to 35 in developing and launching their green businesses that drive a circular economy and create jobs.
The program follows a structured three-phase journey that begins with a Pre-Incubation Bootcamp, continues with a 6 to 9-month Incubation Program, and extends into a Post-Incubation Alumni Network. Throughout this process, participants receive hands-on training, mentorship, and access to resources. They develop their ideas from concept to market-ready solutions, with guidance from local and international experts and collaboration with partner institutions.
Now in its sixth cohort, the RUG Incubator Project has become a thriving platform for young changemakers to build impactful enterprises, reduce waste, and contribute to a sustainable future for Ghana.
Sponsor: Brot für die Welt
Community Green Economy Project (CGEP)
Since 2022
The project seeks to train women within the rural and peri-urban areas in Ashanti, Ghana, by creating sustainable green/circular economy jobs to reduce unemployment, poverty and waste pollution. The women are trained on vocational modules that utilise agricultural waste as a key raw material, such as Mushroom farming with sawdust, African Black Soap making and its added value from cocoa pods, as well as Organic fertiliser production from food waste. These skills set the pace for achieving innovative green and circular jobs in Ghana.
Additionally, soft skills training is conducted to complement beneficiaries with financial literacy, Bookkeeping, problem-solving skills, etc.
Lastly, the most committed and motivated women are supported with the assets needed to grow their business. The assets support are in the form of tools and equipment, and raw materials.
Since the implementation of the program we have worked with 80 women, in six communities of the Sekyere South District. In the end 15 green businesses were built.
Sponsor: Brot für die Welt
Women in Circularity Program (WIC)
Since 2023
The program empowers women waste pickers in Ghana to overcome economic hardship while advancing environmental sustainability. It was launched in response to the financial hardships brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. Since its inception, it has provided training, protective equipment, health insurance, and access to financial resources to 200 women plastic waste pickers, helping them to establish stable livelihoods in the recycling sector..
At the heart of the initiative is the creation of a recycling hub capable of processing up to 960 tons of plastic annually, generating direct employment for predominantly female workers. By combining environmental education, job creation, and social support, WIC reduces plastic pollution, strengthens women’s economic independence, and contributes to a waste-free future.
In addition, we have registered a cooperative union for these women to help them access opportunities collectively and ensure the continuity of their operations beyond the period of direct support. In the end we were even able to give out Senior High School Scholarships for 10 relatives of the waste pickers.
Sponsor: Beiersdorf
Past Projects
Community Waste Recycling Project
2021 – 2024
The Community Recycling Project addressed the severe plastic waste challenge in Kumasi, where much of the PET waste ended up in streets, gutters, and other undesired places, causing flooding, breeding pests, and damaging the environment.
RUG supported plastic waste aggregators and collectors to expand their PET collection capacity by providing infrastructure, technical assistance, and tailored capacity building. The initiative also organized and trained women’s waste picker groups, equipping them with the tools and knowledge to strengthen their role in the recycling value chain.
Alongside capacity building, the project ran plastic buy-back programs, clean-up exercises, and educational campaigns in schools, mosques, and churches to encourage community-level waste segregation. These efforts improved recycling rates, reduced pollution, and promoted environmental awareness while creating new livelihood opportunities.
Sponsor: The Coca Cola Foundation, DOW
Recycle Up! Your School
2014 – 2019
Recycle Up! Your School was a youth-led program developed by participants of the first Recycle Up! Summer Camps in 2014. Implemented with the guidance of experienced Recycle Up! mentors, it combined environmental education with the practical provision of waste segregation systems in schools. Initially launched in 22 schools across Kumasi, Cape Coast, and Accra, the program expanded to additional schools in Togo from 2016 onwards.
The initiative was driven primarily by junior and senior high school students, who formed Recycling Clubs within their schools to promote waste segregation and raise awareness about plastic pollution. Acting as ambassadors, these students engaged their peers, organized educational activities, and encouraged hands-on participation in waste management.
Through this combination of peer-to-peer empowerment and infrastructure support, Recycle Up! Your School enabled participating schools to become role models in their communities — fostering a generation of environmentally conscious and proactive young changemakers.
Recycle Up! Startup Weekend
2017 – 2018
The Recycle Up! Startup Weekend addressed the lack of institutions and companies managing plastic waste in Ghana by fostering innovative business ideas in this sector. Over a weekend, students and young entrepreneurs came together to develop entrepreneurial solutions to waste management challenges. Participants pitched their ideas, formed teams, and worked intensively to refine them. On the final evening, these ideas were presented to a panel of judges.
The event equipped young changemakers with practical methods to advance their concepts and built a strong network of like-minded entrepreneurs committed to tackling Ghana’s waste problem.
EduPlast – Education on Plastic Waste
2016/2017
EduPlast (“Education on Plastic Waste”) was an awareness-creation initiative led by students from the University of Ghana in Accra, combining both online and offline activities to educate the university community and the broader public about the impacts of plastic waste. The project aimed to share knowledge on plastics and waste management, provide updates on the latest developments in the field, and present practical solutions to address the plastic waste challenge in Ghana.
Activities included mass education campaigns on social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, as well as broadcasts via the university’s Radio Univers. In addition, team members engaged audiences directly through pre-lecture talks, church presentations, and other community outreach formats.
EduPlast received strong recognition from lecturers and faculty members for its innovative and proactive approach. The Institute of Environment & Sanitation Studies even recommended expanding the project to reach a wider audience, underlining its potential to inspire change and promote sustainable waste management practices beyond the university setting.
Sponsor: German Embassy Accra
Campus Dustbin Project
2014 – 2017
The Campus Dustbin Project focused on providing waste segregation and disposal systems on university campuses, while building a well-functioning network between universities and local plastic waste buyers to ensure that collected waste could be processed and recycled. The initiative aimed for self-sustainability, with revenues from the sale of recyclable materials reinvested into the project to enable continuous expansion.
Beyond infrastructure, the project sought to raise awareness among university students and staff about the impacts of plastic pollution and practical ways to address it locally. By combining education with direct action, it fostered a culture of environmental responsibility within the academic community.
Campus Dustbin Projects were implemented at Cape Coast Technical University and the University of Ghana in Accra, turning these institutions into active contributors to the circular economy and role models for sustainable waste management practices.
REBECA – RecycleUp Electronic Buddy for EduCation and Awareness
2015/2016
REBECA addressed a core challenge in Ghana’s waste crisis: the widespread lack of awareness about the negative effects of (plastic) waste on human health, the environment, and society. Many people were unaware of these consequences or of ways to take action and uncover solutions in this sector. At the same time, young Ghanaians were highly active on social media and messaging apps, presenting an opportunity to reach them through channels they already used and enjoyed.
Recognizing this, a small team within RUG developed REBECA — the “RecycleUp Electronic Buddy for EduCation and Awareness”, as an innovative and interactive educational tool. Through a chatbot integrated into popular messenger apps, REBECA offered short, engaging stories and facts about topics such as marine litter, recycling, and sustainable living. Instead of lengthy articles, users received bite-sized information tailored to their responses, prompting interaction, reflection, and further learning.
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