The Lagos State Government held an Environmental Sustainability training workshop for market women in Ikeja in collaboration with the Charitable Network for Community Empowerment (CHANCE). The occasion, which took place in Computer Village on International Women’s Day, was designed to encourage empowerment and gender equality. CHANCE founder Mrs. Olajumoke Saliu emphasised the value of upcycling, waste management, and sustainable agriculture, stressing that women’s economic and physical well-being depends on environmental consciousness. The Lagos State garbage Management Authority provided the dealers with instruction on appropriate garbage sorting and disposal methods.
Climate Literacy is essential, particularly in a market like Computer Village that produces a lot of garbage, according to Mrs. Titilayo Oshodi, Special Adviser on Climate Change and Circular Economy. She promoted the circular economy, which repurposes garbage instead of discarding it, as an alternative to the linear economy. Citing laws like the prohibition on Styrofoam and limitations on single-use plastics, Dr. Oreoluwa Finnish, Special Adviser on Sustainable Development Goals, emphasised Lagos State’s dedication to environmental sustainability.
Turning waste into items that could generate revenue.
Traders learnt how to turn waste materials, such as tires, into furniture through skill-building seminars given by Mrs. Temitope Okunnu, founder of the Foundation for a Better Environment (FABE), who promoted the notion that “waste is not waste until it is completely wasted.” Mrs. Abisola Azeez, Computer Village’s Iyaloja (mother of the market), thanked the initiative and mentioned that the traders were keen to learn how to make money out of rubbish. She noted that there were already attempts to separate waste, but she underlined that traders were not well-versed in turning waste into items that could generate revenue.
Lagos State has taken the initiative to address the problems of Waste Management and fast urbanisation by putting in place a number of environmental Sustainability projects. A key player in developing and carrying out policies for environmental management and protection is the Lagos State Ministry of Environment, which was founded in 1979. Its goal is to create a more sustainable, healthy, and clean environment in order to boost tourism, economic development, and the general well-being of the populace. Established in 1991, The Lagos Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) is a key branch of this ministry. Throughout the state, LAWMA is in charge of overseeing the collection, transportation, and disposal of garbage.
Partnerships with private groups support Lagos’s sustainability agenda.
Improving environmental conditions to promote Public Health and Sanitation is one of its goals. Reforms include enhanced Recycling efforts and better garbage bill collection have been implemented by LAWMA over the years. By educating and raising public awareness of efficient waste management techniques, programs such as the LAWMA Academy, which was introduced in 2020, hope to encourage a recycling and environmentally conscious Culture among locals. Partnerships with private groups support Lagos’s sustainability agenda even further. Wecyclers, for example, was founded in 2012 and collaborates with organisations such as LAWMA to offer families easy recycling services.
Wecyclers addresses waste management issues and supports local livelihoods by providing economic incentives and promoting environmental awareness by allowing low-income communities to Trade recyclable waste for cash and other prizes. In order to preserve a clean environment, the Lagos State Environmental Sanitation Corps (LAGESC), which was established in 2017, also enforces sanitation regulations. Among their responsibilities are combating street trade, careless trash disposal, pollution, and making sure pedestrian bridges are used, all of which support the state’s larger environmental sustainability objectives. Market women now possess the knowledge and practical skills necessary to turn garbage into useful resources thanks to the recent environmental sustainability workshop in Ikeja.
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Given the possibility of generating extra Revenue through recycling programs, participants were excited about incorporating trash segregation procedures into their everyday routines. For instance, mastering the art of turning used tires into useful furniture not only creates a new source of income but also helps to maintain a cleaner marketplace. While they were aware of trash segregation before, several traders said that knowing how to make money off of waste had created new business opportunities. A change in mindset has resulted from this training; market women now see garbage as a resource rather than an annoyance, bringing their business practices into line with environmental sustainability.