…as recyclers get N500,000 grants

By Esther Onyegbula

Polysmart Packaging Limited has called for the establishment of a national recycling policy and intensified public awareness campaigns to unlock economic opportunities in Nigeria’s recycling sector, particularly for young people, as the company rewarded four recyclers with N500,000 each to support their businesses.

The call was made during a Capacity Development Seminar organised by the company in collaboration with Switch Recycling Innovations Ltd. and the Lagos State Recyclers Association in Lagos.

Speaking at the event, Group Head, Quality Assurance & Control, Polysmart Group, Ernest Ubasineke, said the absence of a unified national framework for plastic waste collection remains a major obstacle to the growth of the recycling industry.

According to him, indiscriminate disposal of plastic waste across the country has continued largely because there is no coordinated national policy to guide collection and recycling efforts.

“We need a national policy and awareness. Currently, a lot of plastics are just disposed of indiscriminately. We don’t have a national framework for collecting plastics. So, different governments across the states have their own plastic waste policy.

“If we have a national framework around it and build more awareness, there are boxes in the streets for collecting PET bottles which will encourage a lot of people to come into the business because I think the challenging part is the collection itself,” Ubasineke said.

He noted that one of the biggest challenges in the sector is getting people to collect plastic bottles scattered across communities.

“Getting people to go out there and collect these bottles is a big challenge because these bottles are not just sitting down somewhere; they are scattered and littered all over the place and I think is a major issue for young people,” he added.

Ubasineke said Polysmart is addressing the challenge through a technology-driven platform that enables households to easily dispose of used plastic bottles while creating income opportunities for young Nigerians.

“But with what Polysmart is doing, we are creating awareness around that. We have an app where households can just log in, pick a location, and come and submit their bottles.

“So, we are using that to grow agents within the streets. Young people can tap into that programme and become our agents,” he stated.

He further explained that estates and residential communities can generate significant value by coordinating PET bottle collection activities.

“Any estate in a typical modern urban area like Lagos can be in charge of collecting all the PET bottles in that location, which brings huge financial value.

That’s a programme we have started. We’ve been running it for four years now. So, those are avenues young people can come in,” he said.

Also speaking, the Special Adviser on One Health to the Honourable Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare and environmental sustainability expert, Femi Idowu-Adegoke, highlighted the enormous economic potential embedded in PET bottle collection and recycling.

According to him, Nigeria generates massive quantities of PET bottle waste daily, representing significant untapped value within the circular economy.

“If you look at it daily, in Nigeria, we generate about a million tons, or let’s say we generate about a million tons of PET bottles. Even if it is at 5 Naira per ton, you’re looking at about 500 Naira per ton or per kg. So, we are looking at about 500 million daily on estimate.

“So, there is an economic value that is standing, and there is a value chain as well. It’s not just the bottle itself that gives you value; there are things that are made from the bottles, and that gives you those values which increase as you climb the value chain,” he said.

Idowu-Adegoke described recycling as a multi-billion-naira industry that remains largely underdeveloped due to poor organisation and inadequate awareness.

“It’s already a multi-billionaire industry. It’s just that we’re not speaking about it, we’re not aggregating it, we’re not structuring it.

“If you give me N1 million now, I will invest it in the collection because if we don’t get the collection right, whatever we want to do along the value chain cannot be right,” he stated.

On his part, Country Manager for Eco-Cycle Plastic, Taiwo Adewole, stressed the need to recognise the critical role consumers play in ensuring effective recycling outcomes.
“A lot of credits should be given to those that are at the bottom of the pyramid in the industry, which has to do with the consumer.

“Once the consumer consumes and is able to segregate from source, then the quality we’re talking about today will be achieved,” he said.

Adewole explained that consumers can significantly improve recycling efficiency by cleaning and separating plastic waste before disposal.

“The consumer should be given the credit because they’re the last on the pyramid,” he added.
He also criticised the widespread belief that waste management is solely the responsibility of government.

“People always believe waste collection is government business. They believe there’s no law in Nigeria that makes it mandatory that everybody has to separate their waste.

“They believe the local government is responsible. But now, with what is going on with recycling, with circular economy, and so on, people are now getting to know there’s a value attached to waste.

“And like I always tell people, waste is not waste until it is being wasted,” Adewole said.
Meanwhile, Group Managing Director of Polysmart Packaging, Wasiu Balogun, said the company has continued to distinguish itself through innovation and technology-driven solutions designed to strengthen Nigeria’s recycling ecosystem.

“The first thing we did was we had to design our collection system, and the collection system for us is tech-based.
“So, we have our mobile app where we are able to connect households with our agents, and agents to the branches. From the comfort of your house today, you can download our app, request for pickup of your recyclables, and you get paid for it cashless.

“This is one of the best innovations that has happened in the industry since we started,” Balogun said.

Speaking on investment opportunities in PET bottle aggregation, he noted that despite growing recycling activities, collection levels remain far below national consumption rates.

“Everything about PET bottles in Nigeria or in Africa is still underrated because our PET consumption is in the range of about a million tons per annum.
“Our collection is still less than 30 per cent of the consumption. So, the opportunity to collect is still there, very wide, and also the opportunity to recycle is still there.

“But it is a high-tech industry. It is an industry that needs a lot of money and a lot of know-how with a lot of patient capital. The opportunity is still wide in collection, sorting and recycling itself. You can earn a lot of export revenue from that as well,” he stated.

As part of efforts to encourage entrepreneurship within the recycling value chain, the seminar also presented N500,000 grants to four recyclers, Orowole Ogunbayo, Bello Khairat, Amusa Basirat and Opeyemi Jewel Jesani, to support the expansion of their recycling businesses.

The beneficiaries were recognised for their contributions to waste collection and recycling, with organisers expressing optimism that the grants would help strengthen grassroots participation in the country’s growing circular economy.