As Nigeria continues to grapple with mounting environmental pollution and unemployment, the Jewel Environmental Initiative (JEI) has called for urgent investment in waste recycling infrastructure to transform waste into economic opportunities while protecting the environment.
Speaking in an interview in Gombe on Monday, the Chief Executive Officer of JEI, Ismail Bima, said Nigeria’s growing waste crisis presents both an environmental threat and an untapped economic opportunity.
Bima said the country generates enormous volumes of waste daily, yet government and private stakeholders have failed to fully harness the waste management value chain for economic and environmental benefits.
According to him, strategic investment in recycling facilities could significantly reduce environmental pollution, improve sanitation, create jobs for young people and increase government revenue generation.
“Waste recycling addresses critical environmental sanitation challenges by diverting waste from the streets or other sources, reducing pollution and turning potential environmental hazards into valuable resources,” Bima said.
He warned that plastic and nylon pollution is becoming increasingly severe across Northern Nigeria, noting that the region currently lacks sufficient recycling infrastructure to manage the growing waste burden.
“Here in the North, we have little or no company recycling plastic/nylon waste into other products. Gombe State has only one company that recycles sachet water plastics into other products,” he stated.
Bima urged government authorities to establish small-scale recycling plants capable of converting plastic and nylon waste into reusable materials and marketable products.
According to him, such facilities would not only reduce environmental hazards but also stimulate local economies and tackle rising unemployment.
“Establishing small-scale recycling plants will reduce environmental hazards, generate revenue for government and curb the rate of unemployment,” he said.
He added that increased participation of women in recycling and waste-to-wealth initiatives could also strengthen household incomes and reduce economic dependency.
“For the women, it will reduce their level of dependency on their male counterparts,” Bima added.
The environmental advocate, however, identified high transportation costs as a major challenge affecting the recycling value chain in Nigeria.
He explained that rising logistics costs have reduced the collection and transportation of recyclable waste materials to processing centres in other parts of the country, worsening plastic pollution in communities and drainage systems.
According to him, many young people previously engaged in waste collection are struggling to sustain operations because of transportation expenses.
Despite the challenges, Bima said JEI has continued to drive community-based environmental sustainability programmes in Gombe State.
He disclosed that the organisation trained 30 individuals in 2025 on converting sachet water plastics into interlock paving materials as part of its waste-to-wealth initiative.
“We have also trained women on using garden waste to set up gardens in their houses. We have also trained them on how to manage wastewater in homes for gardening activities,” he said.
Bima further revealed that JEI is collaborating with Gombe State University to equip students with entrepreneurial and environmental sustainability skills before graduation.
The partnership, he said, focuses on training students in waste-to-wealth innovation and sustainable environmental management practices aimed at preparing a new generation of green entrepreneurs in Nigeria.
Environmental experts have increasingly warned that Nigeria’s plastic waste crisis is worsening due to inadequate recycling systems, weak waste collection infrastructure and low investment in circular economy initiatives.
Stakeholders say expanding recycling infrastructure and promoting waste-to-wealth enterprises could play a critical role in addressing pollution, improving public health outcomes and accelerating green economic growth across the country.
