Nigerians have been called upon not to only reduce waste and increase recycling but also view recyclables as resources and not waste
The call was made last Monday at the Global Recycling Day hosted for the first time in Nigeria by U-Recycle Initiative, a team of young people aimed at promoting recycling culture in the country, in partnership with Global Recycling Foundation.
The event which had ‘Recycling into the Future’ as theme, focused on the power of youth and education in ensuring a better future for the planet. It was graced by prominent personalities within the recycling industry.
Speaking at the event, an official of the Lagos State Waste Management Authority, Engr, Akinbulo Ayobami, said, the government has been supporting recyclers by empowering and protecting their business .
“By supporting recycling, we have started giving licenses to recyclers in the state to enable them reach out to different companies for their wastes products that can be of use to them. We also showcase them on our website just to promote their business and we mention them on our radio station just to let people know what they are doing because, if their business grows, they will create more jobs in the state and the waste will be taken off the street more,” he said.
He added that LAWMA’s vision presently is ‘circular economy’ and finding a way to implement the policy of changing people’s mindset to let them see money in trash.
“The vision of LAWMA presently is ‘circular economy’ in such a way that people make money for their daily living through trash. What they see as waste is not waste. We now encourage them to see cash in the trash they throw away and to change people’s mind set, is not easy but, through sensitisation, through advocacy, we let them see the value in the waste
“If we want people to separate recyclables from their waste, we must make them see the benefit in it by letting them know it is hygiene for the environment but once you let them know that they can benefit either by reducIng their waste bill, either you get something for them. Once they see all this benefits, everybody will key into it. We must motivate people and to drive such into being a policy, we find a way to implement it in such a way that we make it look attractive through the incentive but we also need policy to drive it,” he said.
However, speaking further on the benefits of recycling, the Founder of U-Recycle Initiative, Oluwaseyi Moejoh, said “the event aims at celebrating recycling and the role it plays in protecting our environment, preventing our planet, promoting public health among others.”
According to her, “ before we embarked on this programme, we have created awareness by making students understand that there is a problem with waste as they see it evidently and they have to act quickly by recycling and up-cycling to prevent these wastes ending up on the street and oceans.”
Moejoh said the group has received support from various organizations with the hope that it becomes an annual event expanding every year and reaching out to more schools.
“We have tried reaching out to companies most especially for our projects. We have more than 20 organisations supporting us for this event and subsequently, we hope that it become an annual event with each year expanding and reaching out to more schools,” she said.
On the partnership with Global Recycling Foundation, Moejoh explained that “partnering with the Foundation, I just assumed that since there is a DAY for everything nowadays, so, I thought there should be a day for recyclers to celebrate recycling too. So, I went online to search about it. I showed it as volunteers and there was turn up from them putting up this event.”
Also speaking, the Co-Founder, Fathia Bello, pleaded with the Federal Government to support people with grant to enable them build recycling plant in each state.
“For the recycling process, the machines are very expensive and that is why in the whole of Nigeria, we only have serious recycling activity happening in Lagos unlike other state where they don’t have. So, if the government can support people with grants to build recycling plants by having one each in every state, people we know about recycling and it will reduce the rate of unemployment in the country. That is one of the problem I think we have in the recycling industry,” Bello said.
