Recycling, the Nigerian Way: Smart, Simple, and Sustainable

Recycling isn't a new topic but something every individual would have likely practised many times, which I am also included in. I have known how to recycle since my younger days, even though I didn't know the word for it. With plastics, rubbers, nylons, and so on, everything is reused again instead of discarded.

Growing up, I used to wonder what these people do with condemned irons after being sold to them. My parents were always accumulating these condemned irons and wood in the house, and to them, it was an opportunity to make money, though they knew these people were always selling it to companies, too, so it could be reused into something new. Recycling is just another way to earn some bucks and to save some bucks, too.

When I go to the mall and I'm given their branded nylon to pack my purchased items, I reuse the nylon for something else, most times to wrap a gift or an item for someone else because it would still be new.

Talk about these disposable plates being used to serve at parties or one being used for ice cream; I don’t just throw them away after using them because they are always used for another thing in the house. This saves me from having a messy home and makes things organised. With those plates, I could pour in some raw foods like rice, beans, semolina, ingredients, etc., and even leftover foods to be kept in the fridge for later use. I can't count how many of those plates are in my house, and it's a saving grace when I need to dish food to people who come around.

Just like this pack of sanitary pads, once the pads are exhausted, I reuse the pack for putting in some stuff just to keep my space neat and looking good. Another thing is the idea of getting what you need quickly rather than searching the whole house looking for it; you would definitely know where they are placed rather than just throwing everything anywhere.

There was a time I read a thread on X where someone was appreciating the mentality of Nigerians when it comes to reusing plastics, and someone replied to her saying that's the mentality of a poor person. I just laughed because the person isn't from Nigeria; else, he would have understood such an idea and also perhaps would have agreed just like every other commenter who was sharing their stories about their childhood and how they came to learn such acts from their parents.

This idea of recycling is found in most homes because we believe in management and also taking advantage of some things before they are finally discarded. This doesn't mean we are poor, but that's just something that comes in handy and also proves to be useful, most importantly, keeping our spaces organised and neat.

We have such around us, too, where we find people picking used plastics, irons, and rubbers for their business, while others resell to companies who recycle them into new ones and then make products with them. This is where you see most vendors using it to sell drinks like Zobo, Kunu, etc. However, one must be careful, too, because not everyone who picks plastics around usually remembers to wash them before reusing them.

The benefits of recycling are to keep our environment clean and beneficial while also conserving resources. It helps to save energy and reduce waste and greenhouse gas emissions.

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