…..As LASEPA initiates project

By Ebunoluwa Sessou

Turning ‘trash into cash’ was the major focus of the initiative organized by the Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency, LASEPA when it engaged the people of Surulere and its environs on the need to tap into the circular economy for wealth creation.

For children, youths, women and men, the present harsh economy was enough to think twice on the possibility of opening up for the opportunities embedded in the circular economy through single-used plastic.

For them, throwing their single-used plastic inside the gutters or even to the drains is forbidden as the new way of turning trash to cash is taking its due cause.

Circular economy

According to some of the single-used-plastic collectors who spoke with Vanguard, the joy of picking single-used-plastic on the streets, gutters and even on the roads is not only the reason for identifying with the ‘Trash to Cash’ project organized by LASEPA but the value added opportunities it would bring to their lives.

One of them, Risikat said, “This is an opportunity for me to earn income. I do not know that I could get money through used plastic but now, I am beginning to understand that there is a value chain in used plastics”.

Another respondent, Lanre said, “I have been collecting plastics since last year and storing them in a place but I do not know what I could do with this. Now, I am better informed that this circular economy is another way of generating income for me”. I am determined to use this opportunity to the fullest.

“Right now, I will be attending parties and visiting event places to collect single-used plastic. I know for certain that this is another avenue to get money”, he said.

Speaking, the general Manager, Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency, LASEPA, Dolapo Fasawe said, the challenge we are trying to solve is how to take care of the material ‘mother nature’ gives to us. This requires moving away from the linear-consumption approach: extracting, creating, using and then burning it. Instead, we want to create responsibility through a value chain.

The circular economy is a recycling tracking and reporting solution that brings connectivity and transparency to waste ecosystems to create circular economies, enabling a digital and effective user journey to minimize the customers’ and partners’ footprint.

According to Fasawe, LASEPA’s role is to teach people how to tap into the wealth of single-use- plastic. “We want to help them create wealth. We are doing this project with groups including recyclers, LAWMA to enable the residents to participate in the value chain. We have designated recyclers who would be working with the residents to carry out the ‘Trash to Cash’ project effectively.

“We are using the opportunity on behalf of Lagos State Government to protect and clean the environment. We have different programmes, projects and initiatives and Cash for Trash is one of them.

“Our motto as an agency is that there is nothing called waste. Everybody’s waste is somebody’s raw material and there is money in waste if you have the knowledge. Our hope is that the knowledge will continue to spread across the community as mandated by this administration.

“The project started in 2020 and we have visited 12 Local Government Areas and we concentrated on some places because they are prone to water pollution. We have been to Ilashe, and Badagry because they are coastal cities. The residents in those areas are farmers, fishermen and we have to educate them on the dangers of plastic pollution”, she said.

The harm of Improper Disposal of single-used-plastic

“What we are saying is that using plastic must not end up on our dump sites. They are recyclable; there is value in these plastics. We are buying the used plastics, and talking to the residents about the harms of improper disposal of single-used plastics that cause danger to our health, environment and even the well-being of Lagosians.

“We block our drains, canal with single-used-plastics and that is the reason we are having floods all over the place. This is why we have global warming and climate change. Our fishes eat these plastics when thrown into the water. It is dangerous to our bodies, it causes cancer and that is why we have an increased rate of people dying because of improper disposal of plastics. Our task is to teach the people about the negative impact of improper disposal of single-use- plastic.

SMEs and single-used-plastics

The Lagos State Government has a programme that supports small and medium-scale businesses and today, we are going to teach people how to be collectors and we will give them the equipment they need as collectors. They would be able to sell these plastics to recyclers. They are creating businesses out of waste.

“Also, we want people to understand that there is a need to move to a circular economy which means both the tangible and intangible assets can remain within the circular value. Someone would collect the plastics and give them to the recyclers who then give those that would process them for another use. These things do not need to be exported. It could still be within us”, she added.

In the Itedo community, the Baale said, the collectors come to parties to collect single-use plastics. It is a mindset change and an opportunity to open our eyes to the potential source of sustainable income. Plastic is an essential part of our lives and it will always be there. We need them; however, what we do with them determines the future of our globe, climate, health and environment in general”, she said.

Laws against violators

Fasawe warns that there are laws backing environmental pollution. “We have sealed up businesses for discharging their waste into the open waters. There are laws against water pollution, and land pollution and the Lagos State Government has a plastic policy.

“However, we cannot punish people for something they do not have an alternative to. We cannot punish you for throwing your waste in the major dustbin when I have not provided an alternative waste bin for plastics.

“This government has lots of plans to ensure that people are able to sort their waste. However, pollution is not acceptable and there are stringent measures for anyone who is caught disposing of any type of waste including single-used plastics in the gutters, and drains among others.