A environmentalist, Ms Wunmi Ogunde, has called for a positive attitude toward recycling to curb plastic pollution in the country.
Ogunde, the Founder of Pakam, a plastic waste collection app, made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos on Monday.
NAN reports that Pakam is a technology that connects waste generators to waste collectors in an easier way.
Ogunde said that people should not see plastic recycling as a huge task.
According to her, Pakam is a reward system that enables people to bring their trash and get paid on their wallets on the app.
“What Pakam does is to collect bags of accumulated recyclables, on request by the app user, and give financial rewards in return.
“With Pakam, we can live sustainably and tidy up our environment for rewards. We cannot leave the environment to itself; we must all take responsibility.
“The idea of Pakam is to ensure that people begin to change their culture toward recycling.
Once you know that recycling can come to your home, then why not do it?’’ she asked.
She said that the app had more than 10,000 subscribers, with an opportunity to grow like any new technology.
She also said that her organisation had partnerships with Lagos State Government, Lagos State Waste Management Authority and others.
Ogunde said that the app was the first of its kind, adding that it had contributed much to the reduction of plastic pollution.
She said that recycling was easier with the app, as subscribers could have their plastic wastes collected at no cost.
“In terms of plastic recycling, we have contributed a lot because people now know that there is an easy way of being able to use recyclables.
“We want Nigerians to have a positive behavioural change to recycling. People see recycling as stressful because of pickup schedules but with Pakam, at a call, we are available to pick up your waste at no cost,’’ she added.