Over 1200 young Nigerians have joined forces with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and Plogging Nigeria to tackle the menace of indiscriminate waste disposal in Nigeria.
The nationwide cleanup campaign, marking World Cleanup Day, had Nigerians take to the streets, markets, and public parks in nine states across the country.
The youths in Kwara, Abuja, Osun, Plateau, Ogun, Enugu, Kaduna, Lagos, and Oyo states spent 25 hours and 30 minutes collecting trash, clearing illegal dump sites, and educating residents on responsible waste management.
The initiative, part of UNICEF’s Generation Unlimited (GenU) program, aimed to mobilise young people to take grassroots action against climate change and promote sustainable waste management. We are committed to creating a cleaner, healthier environment for future generations. UNICEF has empowered us to reach more young people and communities, inspiring positive change,” said Plogging Nigeria’s founder, Mayokun Iyaomolere.
A total of 143 bags of plastic waste and 554 bags of other waste, totalling 500 kg of plastics and 5.2 tonnes of other waste, were recovered while over 7,500 people were directly engaged, including commuters, market vendors, and community leaders.
The GenU Green Rising Initiative launched at COP28, aims to mobilise and support 10 million youths in developing countries to take grassroots action to protect and adapt to the impact of climate change and to see to it that 100,000 tons of trash/plastic are recycled/managed through young people’s actions, by 2025.
For Nigeria, the localised target is to mobilise 10,000 young people to take grassroots climate action by recycling 10,000kg of plastic waste and planting 100,000 trees.
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