By David Arome
What stares at you as you walk through the Nigerian streets is just plastic waste, littered around the environment. The streets, roads, and drainage are now the new reservoir for plastic waste. It has become an everyday occurrence that’s impossible to ignore. Yet, this challenge also presents a significant opportunity for the plastic economy to thrive if properly harnessed.
Despite the massive volume of plastic waste generated yearly, the plastic sector remains largely underutilised. Sadly, about 88% of plastic waste ends up in landfills, rivers, waterways, and drainage and even litters the environment. Plastic pollution remains a serious environmental challenge.
Although the plastics industry appears promising, the interest, passion, and investment needed to drive the sector remain a challenge. Another limiting factor is the passion to venture into the plastics sector, especially among young people. The huge opportunities in the plastic space are abysmally untapped.
The likes of Favour Oijeh, a plastic entrepreneur, are changing the narrative through transformative innovative solutions to the plastic space by converting plastic waste into shoe polish. The shoe polish is popularly known as Voice of Climate Action (VOCA) shoe polish, the very first in Africa, made from recycled plastic. Her work demonstrates that with creativity and technical understanding, the devastating effects of plastic pollution can be turned into economic and environmental gain.
“The devastating effects of plastic waste pollution can be avoided and turned to gain if adequately harnessed,” Favour stressed. This giant stride is helping not only to enhance the plastic value chain but also to address plastic pollution.
Beyond the VOCA shoe polish, Favour Ojieh is championing local climate initiatives through the Young Climate Actors and Technology Project. The project is designed to raise about a thousand young climate champions across secondary schools in Warri, Delta State, to drive local climate action in their respective communities, equipping them to turn ideas into tangible action in their schools and neighbourhoods.
The economic downturn in Nigeria calls for an alternative means to upscale income to meet reality. The plastic sector looks promising as a better option to fill the gap in job creation, especially for young people.
Experts in the environmental sector have called for more sustainable solutions in reviving the ailing plastics sector through investment. According to John Adams, a climate and environmental expert, “the plastics sector can be a new gold mine for the country if managed properly on a large scale.”
Adams enjoins relevant authorities to involve the private sector in a drive to harness the numerous opportunities along the plastic value chain. “Proper utilisation of the huge potential in plastic will, in turn, address environmental plastic pollution,” Adams noted. Making the plastic industry more viable will attract young people into the plastic space.
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I didn’t know that plastic waste could be turned into shoe polish, well done Favour Ojieh and David Arome for reporting this.
Together we can Impact our planet positively.