Mallam Abdul owns one of the recycling sites along the Lagos-Badagry Expressway. Along that corridor, there are no less than 30 spots where recyclable items are collected and processed. During the day, they collect all collectables, but once it is dusk, Abdul and some of his associates start burning some of the items to extract valuables from disused objects. Aside from this, they also engage in burning of wastes collected from homes too. In this report, Assistant News Editor, The Guardian Weekend, GBENGA SALAU, examines the activities of informal recycling in Nigeria and the negative impact on the environment, among other issues.
Nigeria produces approximately 32 million tons of waste every year. This is why Yale Centre for Environmental Law and Policy regards the country as a leading producer of waste in Africa. Nigeria is also listed among the 30 countries with the worst waste management practice out of 180 countries in the world.
And it is said that less than 20 per cent of the waste generated in Nigeria is collected through formal systems, and less than 10 per cent of waste generated is recycled. This implies that about 80 per cent of the waste are collected informally, which then go through majorly informal and fragmented recycling. The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) said that the informal sector is responsible for around to 80 to 90 per cent of recycling.
Recycling International said that Nigeria generates approximately 1.5 million tons of plastic waste yearly, but only a small fraction is formally recycled. The same applies to around 500,000 tons of e-waste imported yearly according to International Labour Organisation with the informal sector playing a crucial role in dismantling and recycling this waste, extracting valuable metals like gold, copper, and aluminum. This is just as scrap metal recycling, especially from aluminum, copper, and steel, is widespread in the informal sector as about 70 per cent of the metal waste is estimated to be handled by this sector.
However, a Professor of Environmental Chemistry, Temilola Oluseyi, said that while the informal recycling sector provides economic opportunities, particularly for low-income individuals, its mode of operation poses serious environmental, health and social challenges.
She added that informal recycling is a critical source of income for many people in Lagos, particularly low-income individuals who are often referred to as ‘scavengers’ or ‘waste pickers’. These people recover and sell reusable or recyclable materials such as metals, plastics, and electronics, which are later resold to recycling industries or middlemen.
“By extracting valuable materials from waste, informal recyclers reduce the overall volume of waste that would otherwise end up in landfills, helping to alleviate some of Lagos’ waste management challenges. Informal recyclers often operate without basic personal protective equipment (PPE) like gloves, masks or clothing, exposing them to substances such as toxic chemicals and hazardous materials found in e-waste. This can result in serious health problems such as respiratory illnesses, skin diseases, and even cancer due to prolonged exposure to hazardous fumes and materials.”
Similarly, National President, Association of Waste Managers of Nigeria (AWAMN), Mr. Olugbenga Adebola, also said informal recycling on its own is not bad, as all over the world, there are so many informal activities going on around wastes. He, however insisted that it must be done in a standard accepted globally, based on international best practices.
He added that there is also a limit to what an informal sector within the recycling value chain can do because they will not have the requisite equipment, knowledge and capacity.
Worthy to mention is that 70 to 80 per cent of the 32 million tons of waste generated yearly is said to be potentially recyclable, yet less than 20 per cent is recycled with the informal sector accounting for 80 to 90 per cent of the total recycling activities in Nigeria.
Across Nigeria, many informal recyclers help to take pet bottles of the roads and blocked drainages. They also go to homes and dumpsites to collect disused items like television, battery, cables, tyres and metals.
However, in spite of the important role the informal recyclers play, many analysts have argued that recycling activities are carried out haphazardly with negative consequences on the environment. This is why across many informal dumpsites and recycling locations in the bid to extract tangibles from disused items and waste collected from homes, businesses, and dumpsites, the operators sometimes burn the objects and do not properly dispose wastewater.
A resident, Ogundeji Fiyinoluwa, stated that the recycling sector in Nigeria is predominantly informal, relying on individuals — often known as scavengers — who collect recyclable materials from dumpsites or door-to-door and sell them to scrap buyers, stating that the disorganised, fragmented system lacks regulation, oversight, and efficient infrastructure, making it difficult to ensure safe and effective recycling practices.
Also commenting, Oluseyi said engaging in such activities of openly burning disused items could lead to challenges like soil contamination, air and water pollution.
She further said heavy metals and toxic chemicals released during these processes could harm local ecosystems and public health. “Furthermore, informal recyclers may inadvertently dispose of non-reusable or unprofitable waste improperly, contributing to litter in streets, rivers, and informal dumpsites.”
She maintained that burning disused electrical and electronic items, cables, and other materials is a detrimental practice aimed at recovering precious metals like gold, silver, copper, and platinum. She added that this process releases a variety of harmful toxic chemicals into the air, including dioxins, furans, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and dangerous metals such as lead, mercury and cadmium.
“These pollutants severely degrade air quality, contribute to smog, and pose serious respiratory risks. Furthermore, this incineration process emits significant amounts of carbon dioxide (CO₂) and other greenhouse gases, driving climate change and global warming. We must seek safer and more sustainable methods for waste management.
“Soil and water pollution are significant dangers associated with burning. When toxic materials from combustion fall back to the ground, they can seep into the soil, introducing hazardous substances like lead, arsenic, and mercury. This contamination can negatively impact local ecosystems, harming plants and animals that depend on clean soil for nutrients. Prolonged exposure to these pollutants can reduce soil fertility, making the land unsuitable for agriculture and vegetation, which in turn damages local biodiversity. Additionally, pollutants from the burning process can leach into nearby surface water and groundwater.
“This poses a risk to drinking water sources, making them unsafe for human consumption. Water bodies contaminated with heavy metals and toxins from burning waste pose a severe threat to aquatic ecosystems, killing fish, plants, and other organisms, and disrupting the food chain.”
The professor of environmental chemistry noted that residents living near burning sites face the danger of inhaling toxic fumes, which can result in respiratory issues such as asthma, chronic bronchitis, and other lung diseases.
She further said that prolonged exposure to chemicals like dioxins and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), released during burning, increases the risk of developing cancer. “Additionally, exposure to heavy metals such as lead and mercury can lead to neurological damage, particularly in children, resulting in developmental delays, learning difficulties, and other long-term health problems.”
For Adebola, many informal battery recyclers simply take the battery and break it open to recover the lead.
“However, during the process of breaking the battery, an acidic liquid is released. International standards and conventions require that this acidic liquid be collected in a professional manner, treated, and then recycled. Unfortunately, the informal sector often neglects these procedures. Instead, they break the battery and dispose of the acid by pouring it into regular watercourses, allowing it to seep into the underground water supply. This contamination eventually affects the water we drink from wells or boreholes.
“A similar issue arises with organic waste that is not properly handled or treated. Some people recycle organic waste improperly, and when the waste decomposes, it produces a hazardous and pungent liquid known as leachate. When leachate comes into contact with water from any source, it becomes a highly toxic substance that can seep into the underground water, polluting the environment. It also spreads to aquatic ecosystems, where it poses significant danger to aquatic life due to its poisonous and toxic nature.”
Adebola also said that the process of converting tires and plastics into alternative fuels such as diesel, kerosene, and even aviation fuel by the informal recyclers often poses danger.
“If the pyrolysis process is not carried out according to international best practices, it can release toxic chemical substances into the atmosphere, including soot, which is very toxic.”
Meanwhile, in 2020, United Nation University in a report stated that e-waste recycling industry in Nigeria was valued at over $60 million. Yet only 20 per cent of e-waste is recycled properly, while the rest is handled informally, often in unsafe and environmentally damaging ways.
This haphazard approach to recycling misses the opportunity to formalise the recycling sector, which according to a report could add an estimated N50 billion yearly to Nigeria’s economy if organised effectively.
The International Labour Organisation (ILO) estimated that transitioning to a green economy in countries like Nigeria could create over 20 million jobs by 2030 across different sectors, with recycling playing a prominent role.
A study revealed that communities near dumpsites experience high rates of asthma, lung infections, and other chronic diseases, resulting in healthcare costs estimated to be over N20 billion yearly.
A report by the African Development Bank (AfDB) noted that recycling in Africa could generate significant economic opportunities, including in Nigeria, by facilitating the export of recovered materials like scrap metal, which has substantial international demand.
To enhance the effectiveness of informal recycling operations, Oluseyi suggested increased oversight from governmental bodies and formal waste management systems is essential.
“The challenges associated with government oversight significantly influence the prevalence of informal recycling sites in Lagos and across Nigeria. Several factors, including limited governmental oversight, insufficient waste management infrastructure, and challenges in policy enforcement, have contributed to the growth of informal recycling activities.”
She, therefore, asked that the government needs to consider investing in the development of formal recycling infrastructure, enhancing the effectiveness of environmental policy enforcement, and providing support for informal recyclers to transition into safer and regulated operations.
“Comprehensive reforms aimed at improving waste management practices will be beneficial for public health and environmental protection.”
Also commenting on how to ensure effectiveness around the recycling sector, Adebola stated that before the enlightenment, there has to be regulation; policy must be formulated with all stakeholders on the table when the policy is being formulated.
“It is not that government will go to form a policy and throw it to the stakeholders to implement. No. Each stakeholder that is identified must be on the table, even at the point of implementation, monitoring and enforcement. Government must adopt bottom-top approach in formulating policies, that is, when the stakeholders will have that sense of belonging and embrace the policy. This will also ensure total compliance and reduce enforcement.”
On how to put an end to haphazard recycling considering its environmental and economic negative consequences, Oluseyi insisted that efforts should be made to formalise the sector, provide adequate training, introduce safety measures, and integrate informal recyclers into the formal waste management framework.
“Another way informal recycling haphazard processes can be checked is to integrate informal recyclers into formal waste management systems. Formalisation could help improve the efficiency and safety of recycling operations while also creating more stable livelihoods for those involved.
“The government can establish dedicated recycling hubs that are equipped with proper tools and facilities. This initiative could significantly reduce harmful practices, such as open burning conducted by informal recyclers, and provide them with opportunities to work in safer, more regulated environments.”
She also suggested increasing social recognition and support for these players in informal recycling would enhance their status and promote collaboration between the informal and formal sectors.
On her part, Managing Director, FREEE Recycle, Mrs. Ifedolapo Runsewe, underscored the need for policies and implementation of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) and the need to repatriate EPR funds to fill the technology gap in developing countries.
“There is a need for programmes to subsidise and exempt recycling equipment from import duties and tax exemptions for purchasing recycling equipment. For the Nigerian economy and indeed Africa to successfully be part of the recycling conversation, there is a pressing need for affordable recycling materials and patient financing for recycling operations.
“Developing countries tend to be hit worst of all in the amount of waste being produced and deposited and there is the urgency to support clean energy transition for these regions.”
Also speaking, Adebola stated that there must be policies by government, which must be all-encompassing.
He added that there must be adequate monitoring and compliance of whatever that is being done while the regulation must define or specify the entry level for everybody that wants to play within the recycling value chain.
“So, if you can’t, as an informal sector, be able to get all the requisite equipment required for proper recycling in accordance to international best practices, then you can just key in by recovering, or as an aggregator.
“There must be adequate training and re-training for those that will be involved in waste recovery to ensure that it is done base on international best practices without harming the Environment and humans alike.
“Waste generators too must be adequately educated and encouraged to sort their waste from their door steps, which earn them some income and also provide uncontaminated feedstock to the recycling industry. Continuous public engagement, awareness and education plus some level of enforcement will sanitise the recycling industry.”
Speaking on whether government’s failure is responsible for the high rate of haphazard recycling in the country, Adebola stated that government before now did not see value in waste. “Governments all over Africa see waste as a waste, whereas the new definition of waste is raw materials in wrong hands. Because governments came late to the party, the informal sector had gone ahead to see it as a source of livelihood, recovering a lot stuff and making a lot of money, contributing to the GDP of the country, though it was not recorded and unrecognised.
“By the time government was coming in with their regulations, enforcement was a bit tough because people were used to a way of doing things. Above all, we need to redefine waste in Nigeria. This is because the international definition of waste may not totally be applicable in Nigeria, because there is a need to take into cognizance the local peculiarity.”
He further said that there must be reward for those doing things right, while those not doing it the right way must be punished, because it must be a carrot and stick approach.
On if dearth of formal recyclers contributes to the huge haphazard recycling in the country, Adebola disclosed: “In 2011, I brought in some partners from Germany and we wanted to start battery recycling in Nigeria. While we, as a formal sector, will have to go through all the regulations as entrenched in the Basel Convention, which controls the trans-boundary movement of hazardous/harmful waste like battery and the Federal Ministry of Environment to get the required license, we had a problem because the same batteries that we wanted to be recycling are already being recycled by the informal recyclers.
“But we would be required to bring in acid treatment, lead recovery machines and a lot more but the informal sector does not put in place all these safety facilities/measures. While the formal recyclers have a lot stringent rules to abide by, the informal recyclers do not. So, if you want more of the professional recyclers then you have to play down on the informal recyclers, nobody is pushing the informal sector out.
“Though they can play a major role in the recycling value chain, because there are different players; there are aggregators, though they claim they are recyclers but they are not. There are recoverers, who recover recyclables from dumpsites or homes and sell to aggregators who process by separating the different plastics. The aggregators now sell to the recyclers.
“But where somebody who is not suppose to be breaking a battery uses cutlass and the whole liquid get poured into the surrounding land and environment. Whereas if we are going to do it, the floor of our building must be concreted and waterproof to prevent the liquid acid from seepage. There is a regulation of what is expected of us, how we can collect the liquid acid.
“So, where we are spending a N100,000 to process, someone is just using N10,000 to process, how will the formal recyclers be competitive? So, it is not about the dearth of formal recyclers but about the imbalance system, because there is no basis for competition. Let there be a level playing ground for every value-chain player.”
