Dr Emmanuel Chukwuma

Water body plastic pollution is one of the most devastating problems faced globally today. It has an impact on the environment, animals, and human health and well-being. Sea-based water body plastic pollution comes from fishing and aquaculture activities, while land-based sources include recreational activities on beaches, urban activities, waste treatment plants and agricultural activities. Water body plastic pollution is also aided by natural factors such as storm water discharge, floods and landslides, and artificial factors like waste collection inefficiency, the lifestyle of consumers, urban drainage conditions and population density.

Plastic pollution is a global challenge, due to poor waste management strategies and the weak enforcement of plastic waste control policies. Municipal drainages in some African countries serve as conduits for transporting plastic to water bodies. Plastic accumulation in municipal drainages is one of the major causes of stagnant water in cities; this creates a breeding ground for bacteria and parasites responsible for malaria, dengue fever, legionnaires’ disease and numerous other illnesses.

Dr Emmanuel Chukwuma is proposing a circular economy plastic waste management strategy that ensures that waste material constantly flows around in a closed-loop system instead of being used once before being discarded. This means simultaneously keeping the value of plastic in the economy without leakage into the natural environment. His research will establish the most feasible conditions for transforming plastic waste into energy and other high-value products, taking regional peculiarities in waste management in Nigeria and Africa into account, and produce data on a preferred plastic transformation process while considering the environmental footprint.

The research will serve as a pilot project for transforming plastic waste to energy, for social impact based on improved strategies and for reducing climate change hazards that result from the uncontrolled burning of plastic waste and leakages to water bodies. This will also reduce the adverse health effects of stagnant water in city drainages.

To solve the problems of plastic waste in Africa, a socio-cultural mind shift on how plastic is viewed is required – it needs to be seen as a resource with profitability attached to it. The plastic transformation’s by-product will boost the economy by converting waste to energy for cooking and other low-engine system usage. The research will be made available for policy documents on plastic legislation and provide information to networks in Africa and abroad.


Dr Emmanuel Chibundo Chukwuma is a lecturer in the Department of Agricultural and Bioresources Engineering, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Nigeria, which is where he obtained a PhD in Environmental Engineering. He previously held a postdoctoral position at the University of Putra Malaysia, Malaysia. Dr Chukwuma is a member of professional bodies such as the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers, the Nigerian Society of Engineers and the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria. He has authored more than 50 publications in peer-reviewed journals. He is also a fellow of the Commonwealth Blue Charter, the 2021 recipient of the National Young Scientists Prize in Geo-environmental Sciences, and the founder and CEO of the Alliance for Progressive and Sustainable Environment.