The Food and Beverage recycling alliance (FBRA) and the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) recently partnered to deepen community-based waste collection in Lagos.
The initiative featured the official launch of a new FBRA-UNIDO recyclables collection centre Igando, Lagos, which will be managed by West Africa ENRG.
The facility is one of three completed collection centres under the project and will provide households and small businesses with a reliable channel for the collection and recovery of recyclable materials.
The newly launched collection centre is designed to serve as a permanent community-based collection hub where residents and small businesses can deposit recyclable materials for collection and processing.
The facility is expected to improve access to recycling services in the area while supporting Nigeria’s broader transition to a circular economy.
“We are building the generation that will change the narrative on improper waste disposal by taking action,” Agharese Onaghise, executive director of FBRA, stated.
According to Onaghise, the initiative was to commemorate the 2026 World Environment Day, with a FBRA organised environmental education sessions for over 250 secondary school students.
“When we reach young people in their schools, we are not just educating them about recycling,” Onaghise stated.
She disclosed that the alliance also conducted a recycling awareness campaign that reached over 1,000 residents, and recovered more than three metric tonnes of recyclable waste from over 400 households through a community buyback programme in Igando, Lagos.
According to her, the alliance remains committed to working with other stakeholders to expand recovery infrastructure, strengthen participation and improve the systems needed to track Nigeria’s progress in packaging waste recovery.
Onaghise added that FBRA acknowledged the contribution of its member companies, whose support helped make the activities possible; indicating the value of collaboration among producers, regulators, recyclers and local communities.
According to her, FBRA will continue to encourage stronger support for the Extended Producer Responsibility framework across all levels of government and calls for increased participation by producers in organised packaging waste recovery systems.
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