NIGERIA – Coca-Cola Foundation has joined hands with FABE International Foundation in the fight against plastic pollution in Nigeria
Under the partnership, FABE, with the funding support from Coca-Cola, will set up five #TidyNigeriaRecyclingHubs across Lagos State.
This partnership comes at a time when Nigeria produces 200,000 tons of plastic waste per year, two-thirds of which ends up in landfills, according to the Global Partnership for Action on Plastics (GPAP).
The imitative is deployed in public places and homes “to achieve the goal of recovering 600 tons of plastic. Anyone can now drop off their bottles, cans and cartons and be rewarded immediately.
This will also encourage the sorting of household waste at source for a waste-free and CO2-free Lagos, notes Saadia Madsbjerg, President of the Coca-Cola Foundation.
“This grant will support local communities in Lagos to better manage waste as we collectively journey towards a zero waste society, globally, one community at a time,” said Madsbjerg.
In addition, this initiative focuses on sustainable development and will ultimately empower women and provide self-employment for young people in the city of Lagos where 21 million people live according to World Bank estimates.
Commenting on the initiative, Director of Public Affairs, Communications and Sustainability, Nwamaka Onyemelukwe, said: “The Coca-Cola Foundation supports programs around the world that are entered on water, waste disposals and community well-being.
“This project which involves the whole community of VGC is to create awareness for people at home to start separating their wastes and thereby recycle them.”
Additionally, the partnership also aims to bring about a behavioral change in the communities such that they should stop tossing away bottles after consumption of drinks.
Temitope Okunnu, CEO of FABE International Foundations, added that the #TidyNigeria Recycling Drive is about bringing recycling hubs and collection centers close to the people.
Meanwhile, Coca-Cola in collaboration with Nigeria Climate Innovation Centre (NCIC) launched a recycling program called the Cycle Plast Project in March this year.
The initiative aims to rid the West African country of 8,910 tons of plastic waste (water and yogurt bags, edible oil and laundry bottles, etc.) each year.
The program will be implemented by the end of 2022 in six Nigerian states including Kano, Adamawa, Abia, Kwara, Edo, and the Federal Capital Territory Abuja.
In addition, the program will, over time, promote a plastic waste-free environment derived through modified behavior and proper disposal habits of communities, while creating jobs and unlocking opportunities along the plastic waste recycling value chain of Nigeria.
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