Bimbola Oyesola
Nigeria’s efforts at turning waste to wealth is paying off, as over 10,000 direct and indirect jobs have been created in the recycling of pet beverages bottles.
This is even as the initiative has created million dollars in foreign exchange earnings to support the nation’s ailing economy.
The Executive Director of Lexsz plastics, Oba Olufemi Akowe, said the $8 million dollar factory located in Ogun state was established in 2011 and presently has over 400 direct staff and ten thousand local workers for the factories recycling plastics.
He noted that the company’s initial target was to export the recycled plastic fiber to China, which it has effectively done in the past eight years.
He said, “But now the company is set to expand and supply Nigerian industries that may need our products as their raw materials.
“The company’s products not only save a lot of energy and resources, but also effective for environmental protection areas in Lagos State and has contributed millions of dollars in foreign exchange earnings and job opportunity for many Nigerians.”
He added that the company had in its eight years of operation taken the lead in waste to wealth management by empowering Public, Private Sector Operations in clearing waste in the environment which are later bought and paid for by the company as raw materials.
“We rely on individual who go around the cities and towns picking wastes which are later sold to us. We also help governments in some South West states to clear theIR dump sites and even pay their agencies.” He said
Akowe explained that with the four production lines refining and processing, Lexsz production scale of PET bottles and preforms per year amounted to over 100, 000 tons thus meeting the major chemical Yangtze River Delta region of China class enterprise demand for a large number of raw materials.
He stated that since the company entered the plastics manufacturing business through waste recycling, it has played a prominent role in enhancing and consistently cleaning environmental waste in Ogun State and other surrounding states.
He however lamented that the government has not been supportive of private sector operators, who daily faced challenges of poor infrastructure, multiple taxation and others.
“We appeal for co-operation, support and a conducive business environment so that our business can flourish. We particularly appeal to our stakeholders to redouble their efforts by ensuring that our waste to wealth efforts through recycling of the environmental wastes are successful,” he said.