Nigerian entrepreneur recycles waste-rags to protect environment

Global recycling day;  How Nigerian entrepreneurs boost recycling of thousands of wasted rags into plant substrate to protect the environment against pollution.

As the world celebrated Global recycling day; A young Nigerian entrepreneur has embarked on turning rags of clothes into plants substrate with the aims of reducing the amount of waste polluting the environment, while turning them to object that is used in decorating and beautifying houses, hotels, restaurant, estates and other places around the cities.

In an interview with a Kaduna based entrepreneur  Engineer  Musa Usman, The founder of (Green community and rural support initiative)  while commenting on the importance of recycling all waste materials, he stressed the vital role of re-using waste into other objects that can be used in changing the environment rather than allowing to cause any environmental problems to the society.

He notes that every year, a large number of wasted rags of jeans clothes, he usually turned into plant substrate with the sole aims of saving the environment against all forms of environmental pollution which can affect human, animals, and other living organisms in the environment.

The plant’s substrate beautify all places including streets and major cities in the town.

According to Him, The rags were collected from scavengers and mixed with cement and water, and then dry it some days before start planting trees and other crops in it.

Recycling is a key part of the circular economy, helping to protect our natural resources. Each year the ‘Seventh Resource’ (recyclables) saves over 700 million tonnes in CO2 emissions and this is projected to increase to 1 billion tons by 2030. There is no doubt recycling is on the front line in the war to save the future of our planet and humanity.

He said, “The Global Recycling Foundation is pleased to announce the theme of Global Recycling Day 2021 as #RecyclingHeroes. This will recognize the people, places, and activities that showcase what an important role recycling plays in contributing to an environmentally stable planet and a greener future that will benefit all”.

Global Recycling Day was created in 2018 to help recognize, and celebrate, the importance recycling plays in preserving our precious primary resources and securing the future of our planet. It is a day for the world to come together and put the planet first.

Musa said, “Turning these wasted rags, which were being collected from dumpsites and other garbage containers, can help in reducing dirtiness in the community, and this can assist in tackling the outbreak of many diseases, which could affect humans, animals, and plants living in the environment,” and stressed that “rags waste is one of the main causes for intense soil and water pollution in many of the 36 states of Nigeria.”

“There is a need for Nigerians to be recycling all their leftover materials, so as to provide for redesigning new products; and we encourage our customers to do the same as well as young children.

“Indeed, the market for flowers business in Nigeria is booming, and the demand for flowers to decorate the house and other places is on the increase, but also the shortage of the old plastic bags for recycling is becoming a major problem that is disturbing the plastic plant bags. We have a lot of customers across the 36 states of Nigeria, and we are now beginning to have new customers from our neighboring countries that are also in need of these bags.”

responding also the founder of “Teku International Farm.”Ibrahim Salisu who is also into horticulture business

He asserted that “Flower gardening is a lucrative business in Nigeria, which requires little or nothing as startup capital. However, you must have passion for the business, in order to make a profit out of it“.

Flower gardening and floral arrangements is a business that has been yielding billions of dollars for smart entrepreneurs in developed countries in Europe, and Nigeria is beginning to wake up to the potential.

There is a need to train more Nigerians on the importance of recycling all waste in order to reduce the volume of garbage at dump places while calling on Government to support recycling companies.