Nigeria missing out on $10bn global circular market

Nigeria’s inability to harness its potential in the global circular economy valued at $10 billion is causing the country to miss out on the opportunity.

The experts who spoke at the Lagos Recyclers Association (LAGRA) event themed, ‘Financing Circular Economy: Bridging the Funding Gap’ stressed that the impact of reusing and recycling waste holds huge economic potential for the country.

Femi Idowu-Adegoke, president of LAGRA, said the circular economy with a market value of about $10 billion could add to Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth if well harnessed and Nigerians start to reuse and recycle their waste products.

“Nigerians cannot remain aloof. It is everybody’s responsibility to develop the circular economy in Nigeria. We need to manage our waste sustainably,” he said.

Citing a report from PricewaterhouseCoopers, he has said the global circular economy will generate over $4.5 trillion by 2030.

He, therefore, urged Nigerians to develop a waste recycling mindset where waste is no longer discarded but transitioned into other usable products like slippers, bags, and shoes.

The circular economy covers both economic aspects (value addition, job creation, GDP growth) as well as environmental aspects (focusing on materials and resources).

In addition, it takes a full lifecycle perspective, including raw material extraction and processing, design & manufacturing, use & consumption, as well as end-of-use management to look at the potential for circularity throughout the value chain.

Idowu-Adegoke said Nigeria has agreed to three sectors to go circular which include waste management, agricultural and food security and renewable energy.

He noted that the transition to a circular economy is not just about environmental stewardship; it is an economic imperative that has led to the development and launch of Nigeria’s national circular economic roadmap.

“There is a financial instrument called green bond where the federal government assures the finance and that finance is supposed to go towards green projects. And if we are not careful, that finance will go somewhere and all we will do is complain again,” the LAGRA president said.

Titilayo Oshodi, special adviser on Climate Change & Circular Economy to the governor of Lagos State, called for more knowledge dissemination in schools to spread awareness on waste recycling and management.

“People need to be enlightened about it. They need to know about the principles that guide it. They need to understand the theory and the practical aspects of it. So, within that space of education, there’s a need for awareness,” she said.

Oshodi also said previously, Nigerians looked condescendingly at those who packed waste. However, today, that’s not the case anymore as waste has become a resource in transition. People are beginning to make money from the responsible disposal of waste.

“We just want our people to be more understanding of circular recycling so that we’re able to expand the scope and look at the larger and the more industrial aspects so that revenue generation can happen,” she further said.

The event had in attendance recyclers showcasing products made out of waste, including foot mats and bags.

On his part, Muyiwa Gbadegesin, managing director of Lagos State Waste Management Authority (LAWMA), noted that from Lagos’s point of view, everything must be done to ensure a circular economy.

“For good environmental management, for us to have a healthy, safe, and vibrant environment for the well-being of the people and our economic growth, we must have a sustainable circular economy,” he said.

He noted that with a population of about 23 million people in the state, an average of 13,000 tons of organic and inorganic waste is generated daily.

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