Returning Wastes to Gains: ActionAid Liberia Equips Youths with Circular Economy Skills

As Liberia grapples with the long-standing challenge of curbing environmental waste, a major step has been launched by a non-governmental organization, ActionAid Liberia, capacitating the young generation to make sustainable gains from waste materials and drive transformations in the economy.

The organization's 2-day training which began from December 12-13, 2025, brought together 22 aspiring young people from across three counties including Montserrado, Gbarpolu, and Bong. The empowerment skill training highlights solutions to turn solid wastes into a source of revenue generation.

Youth leaders, students, and civil society actors, who took advantage to explore their knowledge, were tutored on driving circular economy to create self-employment opportunities. The circular economy training also opens doors about creativity for green entrepreneurship.

Speaking during the training, Norwu Harris, Program Coordinator at ActionAid Liberia, said the initiative is squarely focused on equipping young people through skills development.

Harris explained that the program goes beyond theory, expressing ActionAid’s commitment to long-term youth empowerment within the green economy sector. The capacity building training was being held under the theme: “Building young people’s skills, exploring opportunities, and local solutions for a sustainable future.”

“This program is going into 2026, but before that, we want to provide young people with the skills and mentorship for them to be able to develop innovative projects that we can be able to support in 2026,” Harris said.

The ActionAid Program coordinator, Norwu Harris, added that the circular economy presents a critical pathway for addressing Liberia’s waste crisis while at the same time creating jobs and strengthening community resilience.

The training featured expert-led presentations, group problem-solving sessions, hands-on demonstrations in waste sorting, composting, plastic shredding, and resource mapping, as well as case studies from Liberia’s emerging circular economy actors.

Participants were also introduced to policy advocacy tools aimed at influencing national and local waste management and green jobs policies. Following the training, Francess Yugnet, one of the participants and an environmental science student, described the program as transformative, particularly in shaping her understanding of entrepreneurship within the environmental sector.

“One of my benefits from the program is entrepreneurship, in terms of gaining insight on the environment, most especially in providing job opportunities for others,” Yugnet said.

She also highlighted the networking opportunities created by the training. “I was also able to build new relationships within my environmental space because I’m an environmental science student,” she added.

Beyond knowledge and networking, Yugnet emphasized the importance of action and community engagement.

“Another key thing that I took from the training is the measure of practicality—taking action. What I learned will not manifest if I keep it within me, so I actually engaged in sensitization by gathering young people in my environment, teaching them and sharing practical skills to help them build themselves,” she said.

ActionAid Liberia furthered that the training is expected to produce concrete outcomes, including youth-led green business ideas, community action plans, and stronger advocacy for circular economy policies.

With plans extending into 2026, the organization aims to support innovative youth projects that contribute to environmental sustainability, job creation, and climate-resilient development.

As the country strives to overcome waste management, the initiative underscores a growing shift toward local solutions driven by empowered young people, positioning the circular economy as a key pillar of Liberia sustainable future.