By Olayinka Latona

Nigeria on Friday joined the global community to commemorate International E-Waste Day 2025, with a strong call for youth engagement and innovation in tackling one of the world’s fastest-growing environmental challenges.

The E-Waste Producer Responsibility Organization of Nigeria (EPRON) led the national observance in Lagos, focusing on educating young Nigerians about the dangers of improper electronic waste disposal and the economic opportunities in sustainable recycling.

This year’s celebration, themed “Recycle Your E-Waste: It’s Critical!”, emphasized the urgent need to recover valuable Critical Raw Materials (CRMs) such as lithium, cobalt, and rare earth metals from discarded electronic devices to support a circular economy.

As part of the commemoration, EPRON organized a national student essay competition, which drew 232 entries from secondary schools across the country. Notably, 69.8 percent of participants were female students, a development that EPRON’s Executive Secretary, Mrs. Ibukun Faluyi, described as a positive sign of growing environmental awareness among young Nigerian girls.

Faluyi likened electronic waste to a “material resource bank,” noting that e-waste contains valuable materials like gold and copper. However, she lamented that Nigeria’s current informal recycling methods are “crude and wasteful.”

“Presently, we do not have the recycling capacity to process e-waste from start to finish. There is a need for significant investment,” she said.

She further pointed out the gap between policy and practice in the sector. While Nigeria has established regulations and standards for e-waste management, Faluyi stressed that enforcement remains weak.

“There is a lot to do in terms of enforcement to ensure these regulations are implemented, not just left on the shelf,” she added.

Delivering a goodwill message, the General Manager of LASEPA, Dr. Babatunde Ajayi, represented by Mrs. Olabisi Shonibare, Director of Partnerships, Grants Management, and Innovation, underscored the need for collective action.

“Every year, millions of electronic devices are discarded globally, yet less than a quarter of this e-waste was formally recycled in 2022,” he noted. “Nigeria alone generated approximately 500,000 metric tons of e-waste that year, with Lagos serving as a major hub due to its dense population and commercial activities.”

The student competition tasked participants with exploring solutions for securing CRMs through circular economy models and urban mining. Ten finalists, including Oluku Promise Daniel and Odunjo Temilade, presented their essays before a panel of experts. Winners received laptops, tablets, and school grants, underscoring EPRON’s commitment to empowering youth through education and innovation.

The event received support from partners including IHS Nigeria, the International Labour Organization (ILO), the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), and regulatory agencies such as LAWMA, LASEPA, and NESREA.

With Nigeria’s growing e-waste challenge, stakeholders at the event agreed that youth-driven advocacy and responsible recycling practices remain key to achieving a cleaner, safer, and more sustainable future.