On Monday, March 18, 2024, the world celebrated the Global Recycling Day. The day was created in 2018 to help recognise, and celebrate, the importance recycling plays in preserving the earth and securing the future of our planet. It is a day for the world to come together and put the planet first. This year’s theme, #RecyclingHeroes, recognises the people, places and activities that showcase what an important role recycling plays in contributing to an environmentally stable planet and a greener future which will benefit all.
At wePlanet Africa, we celebrate GIVO, a youth-founded and led start up that is revolutionalizing plastic waste recycling. Based in Lagos, Nigeria, the circular economy firm uses technology to collect, process and up-cycle plastic waste into valuable consumer and industrial products.
Founded in 2019, GIVO has built a network of tech-enabled recycling hubs with a manufacturing arm, where they make recyclables. Through the hubs, GIVO collects plastics from households and the environment and processes them into items like flower vases, tables, toys, face masks, shredded plastic flakes, eco-panels and face shields.
In the throes of Covid-19, GIVO manufactured and supplied Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs) from plastic waste to health facilities in Nigeria. By diverting waste materials from landfills, each of the two main centres collects 90 metric tonnes of plastics annually, leading to a cleaner environment.
They have so far processed over 6 metric tonnes of recyclables, produced over 20,000 units of consumer and industrial products, paid out more than $50,000 in incentives to waste collectors of waste and helped clean 7,500 metric tonnes of carbon out of the atmosphere.
To ease transactions and improve on household incomes in communities, GIVO partnered with mobile money service providers to pay waste generators and collectors.