Exploring the circular economy’s promise and challenges in Ghana from company and policy expert interviews

Abstract This paper investigates how and why circular economy (CE) practices, particularly inter-firm waste exchange and industrial symbiosis (IS), are emerging yet remain constrained in Ghana, and identifies policy-relevant pathways to scale these practices in support of green industrialization. Empirically, the study is based on qualitative field research combining semi-structured interviews with 23 Ghanaian firms across agriculture, manufacturing, and waste recycling, including three in-depth mini case studies of recycling companies, complemented by four structured interviews with policymakers and sector experts. The findings show that production companies in Ghana already exchange, or have strong potential to exchange, diverse waste streams. Organic agricultural and food-processing waste is reused for compost and biofuel, while plastics, paper, textiles, metals, and sewage sludge are recycled into secondary raw materials, fertilizers, biochar, or irrigation water, linking agriculture, industry, and waste management. However, the scaling of waste exchange is constrained by high transportation and processing costs, especially labor-intensive collection, sorting, and handling, alongside inconsistent waste quality, weak certification systems, competition for valuable waste streams, and inadequate collection and sorting infrastructure. The paper identifies key enablers for scaling IS, including targeted financial incentives focused on labor-intensive processing stages, improved waste management infrastructure, integration of informal waste workers, clear quality standards, and supportive regulatory frameworks. By providing a grounded, country-level analysis, the study contributes empirical evidence to CE and IS scholarship in Sub-Saharan Africa and offers concrete policy insights for aligning waste management, employment creation, and green industrialization in Ghana and comparable contexts. Graphical abstract