How AUN Waste Recycling Initiative Makes People Rich

The American University of Nigeria (AUN) has initiated three useful goods in the past two years from recycled institutional waste that could otherwise endanger public health and harm the environment. The by-products generate income in the University's host community. This programme was discussed by the AUN team during one of the technical sessions of the Fifth annual Sustainable Development Summit held at the Center for Sustainable Development (CESDEV), Old Bodija Estate, Ibadan, Oyo State, on August 26. A paper entitled “Recycling Institutional Waste to Foster Sustainable Livelihoods,” jointly presented by Fardeen Dodo of the SBE, and Raymond Obindu of the Office of Sustainability Initiatives, revealed that the introduction of Yola EcoSentials (YES), bottle bricks, and plastic pothole fillers has addressed the treble objectives of creating jobs, reducing environmental damage, and engaging vulnerable people using materials that would otherwise constitute environmental nuisance. The session was chaired by the Coordinator, Indigenous Knowledge and Development (ICAD) Programme, University of Ibadan, Dr. Ismail Azeez, who commended the presenters and described the presentation as highly technical. The presenters explained that Yola EcoSentials was developed from disposed plastic bags, such as black nylon bags used to carry groceries and other retail products, which litter the environment and constitute health hazards to human beings and animals. The project, said the presenters, started with training of 18 women in a two-week workshop. Some of the initial Yola EcoSentials such as iPad holders, ruby baskets, Jacob’s bags, fancy strap-on and aboki hats produced by the women in the project were bought up by AUN to encourage the makers. The products, they said, are also sold to the AUN and its students as well as consumers in all parts of Yola, the capital of Adamawa State. “Production capacity has increased as a result of three or four follow-on training workshops with original attendees at AUN’s initial training. Total sales have surpassed N1.3million. “AUN students will develop and operate a national and international distribution outlet, mostly through ‘socially responsible’ websites and catalogues; this will sustain the business even in the face of saturated local markets,” the presenters said. They also stated that the bottle bricks, developed from beverage bottles, could create sustainable livelihoods. Beverage bottles, they said, were fashioned into shatter-resistant and durable bricks. They are laid into laterite or mortar to create solid walls with considerable texture and beauty, depending on the types of bottles selected and the patterns of placement. Commenting on the plastic pothole-filler, the presenters noted that the project would replace 20 per cent of the bitumen, adding that the plastic pothole-filler comes from a fraction of non-recyclable waste stream. The project, they stated, will be commercialized. “Our goal is to achieve 100 per cent waste diversion from disposal into recycling, ideally toward sustainable enterprises that contribute to an upwelling of economic opportunity in the community." ...Proffers Waste-to-wealth As Panacea for Rural Poverty Waste recycling industries and indigenous input manufacturing to expand the industrial and occupational base of many rural villages, towns, and communities in Nigeria will result in more efficient local economies concludes a recent study by AUN researchers. They set out to find ways of promoting increased resource efficiency by identifying untapped opportunities to be deployed for sustainable economic development. The AUN team comprises the AUN Provost, Professor Charles Reith, Postgraduate School Dean, Professor John Leonard, and Mr. Fardeen Dodo, an SBE instructor. In their paper entitled “Industrial Ecology as an approach for Sustainable Development in a West African Rural Economy,” they recommended forwards and backwards integration of waste recycling and input manufacturing, respectively, to maximize economic and environmental savings, while boosting community wellbeing. [eap_ad_1] The research results, presented in at the Fifth annual seminar of the Center for Sustainable Development held at the University of Ibadan, posited that implementing industrial ecology in rural communities that have a preponderance of micro-scale enterprises will result in job expansion, increased employment and greater community peace. Dr. Reith, Professor Leonard, and Mr. Dodo averred in their study report that instead of training unemployed youth to join the industry under the Local Apprenticeship Scheme, government should rather promote “the setup and development of waste recycling and input manufacturing businesses, while companies explore integrating backwards and forwards into input manufacturing and waste recycling, respectively, to maximize their economic and environmental savings.” Using Yola and Jimeta as research samples, the study found that most businesses in the area are heavily dependent on foreign inputs, while the overwhelming majority of the wastes and byproducts generated by them are recyclable. A workable and sustainable solution therefore lies in organizing groups of enterprises to support, rather than compete, with one another, in better resource management. These two towns, like many other communities of the Northeast and other parts of Nigeria, have long been associated with poverty, illiteracy, poor industrialization, and general underdevelopment. Rising insecurity in the region has further accentuated these social problems, underscoring the need for proactive measures towards social development, peace, and security. Chambers of commerce are also advised to incorporate the documentation of local economies to assist with continued research and development in this area. Further research is also needed to quantify the inputs needed by the economy and the outputs produced, in addition to statistics on the extent of reusability or recyclability of wastes and byproducts. [eap_ad_4]

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