Thirty-one year old Ade Ogunbowale, a graduate of Mechanical Engineering from one of the universities in the country shared his success story as a scavenger with Ebun Sessou in a 30-minute interactive session in Oko-Afa area of Isolo, Lagos State recently.
Ogunbowale could not secure a job after his B.Sc degree and joined the legion of unemployed graduates three years ago. According to him, he carved a niche for himself and became a scavenger at a dump site in Oko-Afa.
Narrating the success story of how he makes a living for himself and sponsors his siblings, he said, “I pick up plastic bottles that litter the streets along my way as well as metals to make a living. Although, most people see the job as dirty, I am feeding my family from it”.
According to him, “There are several people the trade helps.
“Waste recycling is a business that if you decide to go into it today, you are sure of making money. The fun of it is that you might even decide to start now with nothing and still make more money from the business,” Ogunbowale said.
He explained that, “most of the scavengers pick used materials at various dump sites and elsewhere. They look out for objects that include glass, paper, metal, plastic, textiles and electronics.
“The materials are then taken to a collection centre where they are sorted, cleaned and reprocessed into materials bound for manufacturing”, he added.
His words: “Recycling of such materials would produce fresh supply of the same material. For example, used office paper can be converted into making a new office paper just as used polystyrene can be converted into making new polystyrene.
“But recycling of waste is just picking up in the country as a new business model and it surely offers lots of opportunity. For instance, one benefit of recycling is that it saves resources. Also, to recycle waste is to simply reduce pollution. By recycling plastic material we can reduce air pollution as well as water pollution”, he said.
An Environmentalist, Michael Simire explained that turning waste to wealth is a very viable area common in other countries. According to him, “waste needs to be managed effectively and it can also be a source of wealth if well handled. A lot of projects have been embarked upon by these countries and they are using waste to wealth programme as their programmes under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, UNFCC’s theme development mechanism programmes.
“The UNFCCC is an international environmental treaty negotiated at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, known as the Earth Summit. I also understand that Lagos State Waste Management Authority, LAWMA, has something similar that it is working on”.
He was hopeful that the country will soon join other developed countries in the area of turning waste to wealth. “I think, we will start from somewhere but I don’t think we have done so much in Nigeria. There is a project in Ikorodu whereby waste is turned to fertilizer by a particular company. The company seems to be doing something when it comes to recycling of waste,” Simire said.
He continued: “Our challenges could be how committed we are in handling such things. The question of sincerity should be put forward as regard such project. The technical know-how is another pressing issue to be addressed. We should also be determined to make this project work. Discarded materials can contribute to local revenue, job creation, business expansion and the local economic growth.
“Recycling business generates employment and adds value to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of a country that wants to create wealth for its citizens.
“Benefits of recycling include the following: prevents waste of potentially useful materials,reduces energy usage, reduces air pollution (from incineration) and water pollution (from land fill sites). Conserves natural resources, such as timber, water and minerals and prevents habitat destruction, loss of biodiversity, and soil erosion associated with logging and mining.
“The collection of waste starts from the general waste stream through curbside collections by purpose-built waste collection vehicles which moves the waste to the LAWMA Waste Bank. The waste is then sorted appropriately, for instance, plastic bank to contain a wide range of plastic waste.
“Once the sorting is complete, the waste is moved into the recycling plant to be crushed and screened for substances that are unsuitable for processing. Once cleared of unsuitable substances, the waste is then transferred by conveyor to the initial treatment vessel.
“As the business of recycling soars in Nigeria with more research going into the available materials for recycling in the country, some individuals and organisations are trying as much as possible to encourage Nigerians to ensure that recyclable wastes do not end up on the floor, fields, drainages and canals through indiscriminate disposal but contribute in generating incomes and adding value to people’s lives. For example, organisations like Nigerian Bottling Company (NBC) and Lagos State Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) are collaborating to create awareness on waste recycling and its economic benefits”, he added.
I scavenge to feed my wife, six children
According to another scavenger, Abubakar Abdul, “ The reason why I delved into the business is because I don’t have a job. As a poor man, there was no help from anywhere. I started scavenging since I was a bachelor and from the little money I’m making, I feed my family. It is not good if I sit at home doing nothing and allow hunger to destroy my family. I’m appealing to government to help us improve our living condition. Hunger is striking so hard despite all my efforts. I’ve a wife and six children and it is only from this picking of waste products that we feed. Sometimes, we will not have food to eat just because there is no money.” he said.
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Inspite of their resolve to make ends meet through this garbage business, the operators yet face societal stigmatisation amidst other unfriendly attitudes. Narrating his ordeal, Abdul said people sometimes look at them as insane.
Wale Olofin, 30 said: “I started this business when I was 15 years old and since then, I’ve not recorded any tangible gain from it other than to feed. I desperately need a wife but no woman has ever agreed to marry me because of the nature of my job. I impregnated a girl with the aim of marrying her but she ran away with the notion that she can’t marry a scavenger. She even said we are not different from pigs,”Olofin lamented.
Narrating some of the hazards of the job, Olofin said: “ On many occasions, I have been bitten by snakes, scorpions including ants; I have also sustained injuries on my legs at dumpsites caused by sharp objects but I do not relent because I have to feed to live.”
Festac dump-sites
A visit to a dump site in Festac town reveals another hidden market where people earn a living from garbage business. When Saturday Vanguard visited the site, cars parked for sale could be mistaken as the only business going on in that vicinity, but walking straight behind these cars reveals another rendevous where scavengers meet with merchants that patronises them on a regular basis.
The stench oozing out from the refuse dumpsite opposite 202 Road at FESTAC town clearly explains that they deal in garbage. Scavengers were seen pushing their carts one after the other happily with noiseless haggle as money exchanged hands.
CULLED FROM VANGUARD
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