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Cash-for-trash scheme opens way to a cleaner Lagos
Every week in Lagos, Nigeria, a team of purple-T-shirted young men and women riding motorised tricycles, vans and trucks weave amid the densely populated slum neighbourhoods to pick up recyclable waste such as plastics, cans and sachets in a bid to improve environmental sustainability and community health.
In this ever-swelling megacity,where 18 million-plus residentsgenerate 15,000 tonnes of waste perday and there are towering landfillsites in most districts, this may seema Sisyphean task; but Wecyclers, theNigerian start-up behind the venture,has found a way to the heart of theproblem.
By rewarding low-income residents with points based on the weight of recyclables they collect – which they can redeem for essential goods such as food and household items – Wecyclers has managed to incentivise a sizeable sector of the Lagos population previously unmoved by the need to recycle.
Since Wecyclers began in 2012 – when the team’s collectors would travel by bicycle – its chief executive, Wale Adebiyi, says it has collected about 5,000 tonnes of recyclable waste, given more than US$ 100,000 as rewards to residents and seen more than 17,000 Lagosians subscribe to the scheme.
Growing success
The company’s founder, the Lagos born and raised Bilikiss Adebiyi hopes the success in her home town will translate to other cities in Nigeria and across the continent.Such ambitions were given a boostin March when Wecyclers waschosen above 200 other applicationsto be awarded the 2018-2019King Baudouin African DevelopmentPrize, worth €200,000 (US$225,000).
The prize recognises initiativesthat improve quality of life andempower local people to take theirfuture into their own hands.
Wecyclers, which works in partnership with the Lagos Waste Management Authority, certainly meets such criteria. Although it hopes ultimately to make a financial profit – the company makes its money by selling the materials on to manufacturers to produce tissue paper, bedding materials, plastic furniture and bags – it has been set up to power social change.
The problem it has taken on – the urban waste crisis in Lagos – is a big one. When the company began, only 40 per cent of the city’s waste was collected by the municipal government and only 13 per cent of that was recycled. The problem was especially acute in the city’s informal settlements, which were not served by regular rubbish collections. Mountains of discarded rubbish would form, blocking roads and contributing to the spread of diseases such as malaria, cholera and dysentery. Sometimes the mounds of rubbish would catch fire and cover the surrounding area in acrid smoke.
Points for recycling
Life here is focused on surviving each day, so the future environmental cost of the piling trash carries little weight. Wecyclers’ rewards scheme, however, gives meaningful value to the collection of recyclable materials. Service subscribers are awarded points per kilogram of recycled waste handed in, which they can track on their mobile phones and exchange for essential goods such as food and household items three times a year, in April, August and December.
The benefits extend to creating much-needed jobs in a city where the population rises by 85 people every hour.
Wecyclers has created 200 jobs in its seven years, with a focus on women, who account for more than half of the workforce. As well as the truck drivers, the company employs teams at its seven collection and packaging hubs in the city to sort through the water sachets, aluminium cans, kegs and cartons as well as plastic baskets, bowls, bottles and lids that come in. This is good news for the local recycling industry in Lagos, which previously was operating far below its capacity but now has a reliable supply of raw materials.
Jobs creation
According to its calculations, Wecyclers has the potential to create 500,000 jobs if you factor in the building of trucks, vans and the attached recycling bins for its growing fleet of vehicles. This all requires local welders, carpenters, painters and tailors.
The company has grand plans to increase its presence and influence in Lagos. Currently, there are seven collection hubs across the city – households can contact their nearest one to arrange a recyclable waste pick-up – and around 200 new members are registered each month but the company’s target is to reach 500,000 homes by 2023 and extend its operations beyond the slums to more affluent areas.
Wale Adebiyi says: “Giving back to the community is in the DNA of Wecyclers. We want to expand our business to other neighbourhoods. In the mid-term, we want to be big enough to build our own recycling plant. Growing more for Wecyclers means being able to give back even more to the community.”
The huge financial boost of the King Baudouin African Development Prize should go a long way to realising this vision. The prize also provides access to a wide network of stakeholders in Europe and the United States who will support Wecyclers as it grows. The company’s growing influence has recently attracted Unilever and the Nigerian Bottling Company to become its partners in launching ‘kiosks’ to drop off recycling in places where there are no collection routes.
This tiny Nigerian start-up, which began with bicycles and a bit of mobile tech, may have found a workable solution to the massive waste problem in Lagos.
Royal award
Wecyclers will be presented with the King Baudouin African Development Prize in the presence of King Philippe and Queen Mathilde of Belgium at the Royal Palace in Brussels on 12 June.
