Badagry Residents Reap Food, Cash Benefits At Lagos Waste-To-Value Initiative

Badagry residents at the weekend received various rewards like food items, cash, free transport vouchers, health insurance admission and more from the Lagos State government’s new Circular Economy initiative aimed at boosting sustainable development practices in the state.

Residents thronged the venue to exchange their wastes ranging from pet bottles, rubbers and other disposed household items to get food items like rice, garri and instant cash rewards through transfers into their bank accounts.

The event tagged ‘Eco-Circulate’, was organized by the Office of the Special Adviser on Climate Change and Circular Economy, led by Mrs. Titilayo Oshodi, held at the St. Thomas Primary School, Agbalata Market Road in Badagry, which is one of many to come in other Local Governments and Local Council Development Areas of the state.

Eco-Circulate is a One-Day sensitization campaign to enlighten communities on values waste can offer for their needs, activate and engage communities especially businesses on Nano and Micro level as key beneficiaries in the state’s drive towards a Circular Economy.

According to the Special Adviser “Eco Circulate is a waste valorisation, data aggregation and circular education program used to enlighten and teach the community about the value around waste recycling, reusing and reducing.

“This initiative positions circular practice as an incentivized social subsidy strategy, rewarding residents who adopt climate-friendly behaviours in their daily lives.

“Every community needs to be educated and enlightened. They need to understand that effective and responsible management of their waste will affect their health and productivity, financial capability and improve their overall quality of life.”

“The program will feature a vibrant waste-to-value bazaar offering health insurance enrollment opportunities, free transportation vouchers, food items and more.”

Oshodi said the state government had been doing a lot on Circular Economy in the city of Lagos by the ministry of the Environment through LAWMA, but that there is a need to sustain the practice from the rural areas which borne out Eco Circulate to engage communities.

Her words ”there is need for us to begin to stimulate the ideals and the models of circular economy. We already started doing this over a period of time in Lagos. There has been a lot of work been done with the Ministry of Environment through LAWMA.

“But the gap is in sustaining the behavioral attitude. Letting our people understand the benefits that are inherent to responsibly manage their waste and incentivizing it by the government because you cannot tell somebody looking for daily bread to be careful or mindful of climate change or how to manage her waste.

The Special Adviser said her Office partnered with other government Agencies like Lagos Wealth Management Authority (LAWMA), Lagos State Health Management Agency (LASHMA), Lagos State Residents Registration (LASRRA), Ibile Oil and Gas Corporation (IOGC) and some private entities who are already into the waste-to-wealth business to ensure that the aggregate measures of reward meets the waste collected at the designated centres.

“This program is bringing to fore the ability for the government to partner with private sector in rewarding a responsibly waste disposal whether cans, pet bottles, sachets, e-wastes, and textiles at designated collection centers are positioned to provide value which comes in different ways such as discount in transport (BRT, Rail and Waterways); Health Policy schemes and many more.”

Highlighting the sustainability of the initiative, Oshodi added that “Badagry is our first because we want to use it to draw the data that would help us to build the necessary business case so that we can scale it. Our plan is to run this program across the 57 local councils in Lagos. And that is the mandate Mr. Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu has given us.”

In his remark, the Commissioner for Local Government, Chieftaincy Affairs and Rural Development, Mr. Bolaji Roberts, who hails from Badagry urged residents to take full advantage of the initiative.

While assuring of residents’ cooperation in the exercise, he thanked the Office of the Special Adviser on Climate Change and Circular Economy for considering Badagry worthy of hosting the flag off campaign.