Waste to Wealth – The 21st Century Reality

It is no longer news that states, corporate entities and individuals are currently faced with harsh economic realities and are seeking effective innovate ways to increase profitability and diversify their economies, businesses and income respectively. New and existing businesses have now discovered that diversifying into waste management has not only ensure business continuity, job creations, protect the citizens from health and environmental hazards associated with waste disposal but also help conserve energy and much needed resources.

Waste management until recent times in Nigeria basically entailed the disposal of a low percent of total generated household and industrial wastes by hand carts whose pushers  incinerates / indiscriminate dumping of same collected waste without any form of sorting/segregation or recycling. With newer technologies and research results.

Recycling is one of the three components of resource recovery area of Waste Management, it is defined as the process of collection used or discarded waste material and converting them into new product to be used or sold and helps conserves expensive space in landfill sites and dwindling natural raw materials. Recycling is good business as companies all over the world depend on recycled materials for their products. Recycling in economic terms is simply creating value from seemingly wastes products, it is fast becoming a blooming business venture in Nigeria with Plastic, Metals and Paper the favorite recyclables sourced from the mountains and heaps of municipal solid waste in our metropolis and rural areas.

We personally look forward to when Nigeria can have 100% waste conversion and eliminate dependence on crude oil sales. The possibilities of waste conversion to energy is limitless especially in our ever developing and technological evolving world where countries like Sweden have keyed into this vision by going a step further to import waste from neighboring countries for processing.