Recycling in Lagos

Innovative recycling loyalty scheme takes hold in Lagos

Households in Lagos can exchange recyclable material for points which can be used to obtain food, kitchen equipment, mobile phone credit or even cash.

Wecyclers provides a door-to-door service, collecting plastic bottles, bags and tin cans, which is then sold on to recycling plants.

The company has the backing of the Lagos Waste Management Authority (LAWMA), the city's public refuse collection body. Its teams travel by specially-adapted bicylces and have collected almost 200 tons of waste from about 5,000 households, since they began 18 months ago.

The recyclable refuse is weighed and each kilogram accumulates credits which can be traded for goods.

Lagos produces 10,000 tons of waste every day, much of which is thrown on the street and into open sewers. Aside from damaging the environment and being a health hazard, the dumped rubbish clogs up drains leading to flooding.

Only about 40 per cent of the city's waste is collected currently.