Sahara Group Foundation Expands Recycling Push Into Jigawa, Kaduna

Sahara Group Foundation opened two new recycling centers in northern Nigeria this week, pushing its waste-to-income program deeper into a region where organised collection systems remain scarce.

The Foundation commissioned hubs in Gidan Hakimi, in Jigawa State’s Shuwarin Local Government Area, on July 14, and at an Asharami Retail Station in Badiko, Kaduna South Local Government Area, on July 15. The additions bring the network to 22 sites nationwide and mark the Foundation’s second and third locations in the north.

The Jigawa facility was built with backing from the King’s Council of Shuwarin. The Kaduna site was developed alongside Asharami Synergy, a sister company within the Sahara Group, at one of its filling stations.

Chidilim Menakaya, director of Sahara Group Foundation, said the expansion reflects a strategy of working through local partners to root the program in each community. “By partnering with institutions and sister companies that understand local needs and realities, we are building a recycling ecosystem that communities can own, sustain, and benefit from over the long term,” she said.

Officials from both states attended the openings. In Jigawa, the guest list included Commissioner for Environment Dr. Nura I. Doka, Shuwarin Local Government Chairman Hon. Abdulhamid Ibrahim Balago, and members of the King’s Council. In Kaduna, Asharami Synergy leadership joined station staff and residents.

Alhaji Bashir Abdullahi, Sarkin Gabas and Hakimin Shuwarin of the King’s Council, framed the hub as a response to a problem that had gone unaddressed for years. “For years, our people have had no organised way to deal with waste beyond burning or dumping it by the roadside,” he said. “This hub gives our young people and our women a way to earn from something that used to just pollute our surroundings.”

At the Kaduna site, Filling Station Manager Aliyu Abdullahi Mabai said the location made sense given the station’s existing foot traffic. “We are glad to host this recycling hub on our premises,” he said. “It gives our customers and neighbours a simple way to recycle, and fits with what Asharami Synergy stands for as a responsible business.”

The two hubs operate under the Sahara Go Recycling banner, part of the company’s broader Sahara Beyond XXX sustainability program. The model pays households and waste pickers for recyclable materials, aiming to formalize an activity that had largely happened informally or not at all in many communities.

The Foundation said it plans to open a hub in Kano State in the coming weeks, following talks with the Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II, who it said expressed interest in bringing the program to his state.

Sahara Go Recycling has processed more than 1,000 tonnes of material since launching and says it has touched more than 2,000 livelihoods directly or indirectly across its sites.