The objective of turning Africa’s huge waste into value has been the driving force behind the establishment of what is fast becoming the continent’s most expansive waste recycling firm called Recyclan. The company is focusing on a dual pronged business ideology of creating an environmental sustainable society while creating wealth at same time.
CTO, Molawa Adesuyi
Launchedin 2018 by Chime Okwuokenye, Rob Homan and Molawa Adesuyi, Recyclan is on a mission to reduce Africa’s carbon footprint and make the world greener by recycling plastic waste.
The startup is reducing plastic waste on beaches, landfills and in the ocean by driving collection through technology. Its mobile app and SMS service incentive people to recycle their waste, offering things like access to health insurance, sanitary towels, and schools fees in exchange.
It then processes and packages this waste to customer specification and then exports it to North America, Europe and Asia. Adesuyi said the company had so far recycled 2,500 metric tonnes of plastic waste, the equivalent of more than 1,500 cars.
“Plastic waste is ruining our land, contaminating our oceans, killing our sea life and adversely affecting our planet,” he said.
“Africa has the highest rate of inadequately managed plastic waste. It’s toxic to the environment, but raw cash if harnessed.” Recyclanis harnessing this waste by exporting it to the rest of the world, filling a sizeable gap.
“Plastic waste is such a massive global problem such that there are not nearly enough companies recycling plastic. This means the few companies who recycle actually buy and trade with each other,” Adesuyi said.
Self-funded thus far, Recyclan has nonetheless expanded its waste collection operations across the continent. It is active in eight states of Nigeria, as well as Ghana, Togo, Benin, Cameroon, Burkina Faso and Kenya.
“Leveraging on regional agreements that are currently being made in Africa we plan to use technology to scale our recycling model across Africa,” said Adesuyi.
“We will invest locally in human capital in the markets we operate in and create a recycling culture that doesn’t exist in Africa.”
That recycling culture will be built in order to export collected waste to markets in North America, Europe and Asia. Recyclan recently set up a hot washing factory in the United Kingdom (UK) from where it processes its own product, increasing its revenues. Adesuyi said the startup has made over US$1.1 million in revenue already, and has a 40 per cent margin.
Kelechi Deca
Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry
In continuation of its community social responsibility, and philanthropy, the Dangote Group has unveiled a “Waste to Wealth Initiative” which is focused on managing waste disposal while generating income and giving back to communities wherein we operate.
Group Chief Sustainability and Governance, Dangote Industries Limited, Dr. Ndidi Nnoli,
The project which forms part of events marking the 2019 Global Sustainability Week was celebrated by employees of the Dangote Group with the theme: “Our Community, Our Passion” with various activities held in Lagos and across the Group’s business units and plants.
These activities focused on investment programmes directed towards turning waste to wealth, and reviving reading culture in young children in host communities.
In Lagos, over 200 Sustainability Champions and employee volunteers across the business units, assisted five international facilitators to train the children on turning the most insignificant materials and waste in the environment into tangible assets of economic value to the nation.
Dangote employees also took the initiative to St. George Primary School and Aunty Ayo International School in Ikoyi, where the facilitators, with additional help from the volunteers, trained the children on how to manage their wastes and create sustainable products that are marketable from their everyday generated wastes.
Speaking on the initiative, the Group Chief Sustainability and Governance, Dangote Industries Limited, Dr. Ndidi Nnoli, said the company’s sustainability approach is driven by a desire to contribute and impact positively towards the development of host communities and the society at large.
According to her, the 2019 Sustainability Week is directed towards safeguarding the environment by educating the host communities on how to turn waste to wealth to achieve sustainable development.
Continuing, she said that “we chose St. Georges School because the school is a neighbour to Dangote Head Office building in Ikoyi. Charity begins at home. We started to engender the sustainability culture as an employee volunteering initiative. We honestly believe that people are at the centre of any organisation and sustainability needs to begin with the individual person. It is a culture in Dangote to celebrate the sustainability week every year and this year we decided to bring it to a neighbouring school”.
“It is so important that we bring the initiative to the schools around us because we need to be very concerned about our children, their future, and most especially, education outside the classroom. We need to be concerned about educating our children on sustainability beyond the definition”, she added.
Nnoli disclosed that the company brought international artists to educate the employees that the type of waste that can easily be thrown into the trash can, could be transformed into usable items. “We have people making bangles and pencil cases out of waste plastics. We also have literacy session, mentoring and above all, we are learning about why it is necessary to hunger for knowledge”.
She noted that the Dangote Group has a responsibility to the environment and the society. “We are looking for ways to ensure that value is added to things around us. We have many volunteers who are so eager to learn and impact knowledge to the children. The children are also very excited to learn on new ways to transform the environment.
“For us at Dangote, it is social responsibility and also corporate services, but in this case, the employees have volunteered to carry out this initiative. But the organisation has given us the license to do whatever we want to do. So, as Dangote employees, we have chosen to stand for sustainability, we stand for social development and we stand for the education of a child”, she said.
Giving insight into the programme, the Group Chief Human Resources Officer, Dangote Cement Plc, Dr. Musa Rabiu, said the company’s intention was to create an environment “where we keep improving on how we operate and interact with the environment and regarding people as the most valuable assets”.
He said the company organised the programme to touch the hearts and minds of children who are the next generation by teaching them how to re-use trash.
Rabiu said the initiative was all about reigniting children’s creative ability through innovation by leveraging on technology. “We need to let them know that managing the environment in terms of creativity and innovation is key. With this knowledge, the children are expected to grow up and be conscious of how they can re-use materials in the environment”, he added.
General Manager, Sustainability, Dangote Cement Plc, Eunice Samson, said the company’s intention was to ensure that Dangote employees key into the Group’s vision and volunteer to reach out to the local communities through value addition.
She said the theme for this year’s Sustainability Week “Our Community, Our Passion, the Dangote Way” was a way to make the host community to begin to see the social side of Dangote. “So, for Dangote, it is not always all about business; we also care about the wellbeing of our host communities. With this programme today, we have been able to reach out to over 600 pupils from St. George Primary School and Aunty Ayo International School, Ikoyi, Lagos.
“What we are trying to do is to ensure that we clear the environment of waste by turning it into wealth. We have over 200 Dangote employees who have volunteered to assist the facilitators to teach the children how to turn waste to wealth. The children have been taught how to turn waste plastic bottles into pencil cases, bangles, piggy banks, as well as using used Dangote Cement bags to create gardens” she added.
Speaking also at the event, the Managing Director of African Creative Hub, Jumoke Olowookere, said her responsibility was to teach the participants on how to create a sustainable world without wastes through upcycling wastes towards achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
Kelechi Deca
Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry.
