By Bisola Adeyemo
A not-for-profit organization, Oando Foundation, in Lagos state is training communities, and schools on waste recycling to create jobs, and to create valuable products from waste.
The training program is said to be part of the Foundation’s ‘Clean our World Initiative’ through which it supports basic education, access, and quality.
The initiative is funded by Sumitomo Chemicals, Japan and implemented by the Nigerian Conservation Foundation (NCF).
While speaking at the training hosted at the Metropolitan Nursery and Primary school, Orile-Igamnu the organisers disclosed that they chose Orile-Igamnu community as part of their continuous relationship with the school which is under their adoption.
According to Balikis Balogun, lead environmental education at NCF the main aim of the training was to impart attitudinal change towards waste management.
“We want to teach the students and the community that waste is not waste until it is totally wasted. There are some things that you consider waste but can still be converted and used as another product.
“The Nylon that we discard after we buy things or use them can still be converted into something meaningful, thereby having a useful effect on the environment and reducing the number of nylons on the environment, knowing that they don’t decompose even after many years,” Balogun said.
Speaking on the initiative achievement, the foundation noted that they were able to achieve this training by leveraging the expertise of Plastic Evolution, a recycling company, to implement the project.
Many villagers and teachers of Metropolitan School were thought of converting Nylon to boxes and other useful products.
Speaking on the impact of the initiative, Caroline Iwuajoku, the Assistant Head Teacher of Metropolitan Nursery and Primary School, explained that the exercise has assisted in keeping the school compound clean and imparting knowledge on the students and teachers too.
“Since the Foundation visited the school, we have started teaching the students how to make use of Nylon to produce products and they have started picking up and that will help them to be useful in their family and the society; they can also use it to produce what they can even sell to make money,” Iwuajoku said.