Environment: Young recycling leaders in Ivory Coast and Nigeria

Scaling recycling operations in Ivory Coast

Côte d’Ivoire’s Coliba operates in its home market and Ghana. It was co-founded by Yaya Kone, an Ivorian professor of business management who returned to West Africa after years lecturing in Paris. His company received investment in March from Germany’s GreenTec Capital to help scale across the region.

Over 5 million tonnes of waste are generated each year in Côte d’Ivoire with less than half of the current waste being collected, and only about 3% is being recycled. 94% of actors in the plastic waste economy operate in the informal sector on the fringe of the recycled plastics value chain. Coliba’s platform solves these issues by offering formal employment opportunities in waste management as well as an easy solution for households to earn rewards for recycling.

Coliba applies principles of the circular economy to tackle the problem of plastic waste in Cote D’Ivoire.

The company collects plastic bottles to convert into pellets or granules at its recycling plant in Abidjan. The washed and fragmented plastic is sold to local companies to be remade as tables, chairs, or exported abroad to businesses in Ireland and China. The company has partnered with MTN Côte d’Ivoire – Côte d’Ivoire’s largest telecommunications operator – to exchange plastic bottles for airtime and data, and plans to double its existing 24,000 users by the end of the year, before entering new markets from 2021.

“Most of the collectors of the waste are women,” says Kone. “They don’t have formal jobs but go door-to-door collecting waste from houses. So for us, it was a big point, to convince the women to work with us in regular employment. Not to take their roles away but to give them jobs.”

Some 80% of collectors who work with Coliba are women, with 30 full-time female employees at their recycling plant.

“Each team has five women” says Brigitte Kotche, sorting centre supervisor. “One person to remove the seals and labels, and the others to clean. Then we grind the PET.” (PET is the dominant type of plastic used in bottles.) .

Coliba recycled 5,000 tonnes in 2019, and the company plans more recycling plants at home and in Nigeria, Benin and other regional countries. Its margins are being further boosted by a growing number of Abidjan businesses employing it to collect their waste in exchange for data supplied by MTN as the waste management ecosystem gets redefined. From Banjul to Benin City, a culture of recycling is germinating, and local citizens are doing the heavy lifting.

Confronting Nigeria’s waste challenge

Nigeria is the ninth major polluter of marine environments in the world, according to Environmental Sciences Europe, while a recent study in Nigeria estimated that around 60,000 tonnes of used electronics are imported per year, as the country becomes an e-waste dumping ground. Nigeria contributes 32m tonnes of solid waste each year – 70-80% of it is estimated to be recyclable, according to the UN Environment Programme – as Africa’s largest population rockets past 205m.

But despite these great challenges, shoots of optimism have emerged. Last year the Nigerian government strengthened its ban on single use plastic bags by introducing hefty fines and potential jail sentences for stores found to be giving them to customers. In addition, more local businesses are attempting to monetise the growing waste.

“The Nigerian government has approved waste recycling plants for virtually all the states in Nigeria, but sadly many are not operational,” Anyanwu said. “The challenge is that people are not bringing their waste so there’s nothing to do, and going out to look for the waste will cost more. But when people know they can create value from the plastic they throw away, they will think twice about doing it. And when the person who is buying knows that what is coming to him is already sorted, it cuts down on time and costs for him so it’s a win-win”.

OkwuEco’s app is finishing its pilot stage after months of trialling among 70 users. The business will charge $9.99 monthly subscription fees for traders, and will be available in dozens of the country’s 200-plus languages. Anyanwu plans to roll out the business across Nigeria from June.

Lagos-based Wecyclers operates a similar business model.

Wecyclers, a start-up that helps low-income communities exchange their recyclable waste for cash and other rewards, has won $55,000 from a foundation run by AOL co-founder Steve Case.

The young company won the award at the #PitchForLagos event during Lagos Start-Up week event where it was was up against eight other pre-selected start-ups. These included civic start-up BudgIT, who have made waves with efforts to ensure transparency in the finances of Nigeria’s National Assembly.

While the start-up may be classified as a social enterprise, it is also focused on generating revenue by re-selling the recyclable waste. The Lagos metal and plastic waste market alone is valued at $700 million so Wecyclers hopes to do well by carving a niche for itself in the recycling industry.

Sources: African Business Magazine , Disrupt Africa

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