MAKING IT, SPENDING IT: MAKE OR MAR MONEY CHOICES – Gains In Recycling Business

Have you ever recycled or reused your organic and inorganic waste? If you haven’t, now is the time to get on board. Waste management is one of the biggest environmental challenges in the world.

Apart from its negative environmental impact, poorly managed waste leaves us susceptible to serious health repercussions, by increasing respiratory problems and affecting economic development.

Organisations and environmental enthusiasts in Nigeria like the founder, Pearl Recycling, Olamide Ayeni-Babajide have invested hugely and she has continued to educate and drive awareness on the importance of recycling waste to prevent natural disasters and improve the environment.

To Olamide, one of the biggest environmental challenge in the world is waste management, hence, the need she has dedicated over five years to change the narrative and sensitize the society on the the need to manage waste products and the Business side of it,

Explaining how her business started, she said: “I told myself we have corns in Nigeria, but we are throwing the husk away. Why can’t I start collecting the corn husk from the roadside corn sellers and start turning them into beautiful work of arts? That was how Pearl recycling started. We progressed from corn husks to plastic, wine corks and tyres. We currently work with all form of solid waste, turning them into artistic pieces either as furniture or décor.”

Presently, her organisation has trained women and unemployed youths on the business of converting waste to furniture. She also solves the problem of inadequate chairs in public schools by producing ergonomic classrooms chairs from waste for the pupils, a project sponsored by the US Embassy Abuja.

Creating awareness about waste reuse and recycling with a verifiable record of over two million people reached, Olamide has changed the narratives around waste reuse in Nigeria and has also reaped the fruits of her labour.

She says, “its a business that is very profitable if you don’t look at the stereotypical nature of it. The awareness is still not there but if you resilient and hardworking, you can make your millions.”

Creating awareness about waste reuse and recycling with a verifiable record of over two million people reached, Olamide has changed the narratives around waste reuse in Nigeria and has also reaped the fruits of her labour.

For instance, in 2017, she was selected as one of the Tech women Emerging Leader by the United States Department of States and in 2018, she was named as an Obama African Leader for her impact work and also named as the most outstanding social innovator by LEAP AFRICA.