Lagos recyclers buy N4m waste drink cans weekly

Recycling companies in Lagos currently source at least N4 million empty aluminum drink cans every month from scavengers and waste resource merchants.

A waste resource merchant who chooses to be called Jaco said there are about 10 companies in Lagos that buy empty aluminum drink cans and each one buys an average of eight to 10 ton weekly. According to the operators, 10 tonS of empty aluminum drink cans is worth about N500, 000.

A representative of Duke Isaac Company, a recycling firm located in Ikorodu who spoke to BusinessDay on grounds of anonymity revealed that his company buys more than 10 tonS of cans worth at least N500,000 weekly to recycle into aluminum sheets and aluminum cans. He said, “We buy a kilo of aluminium cans at N50, so 1,000 kilo which is equal to one tonne is N50, 000.” A kilogramme of such aluminium cans contains about 74 empty soft drinks can which may be soft drinks such as coke, fanta, different brands of malt, beer, energising drinks and so on. To earn N50,000, the supplier would have to make available about 74,000 empty cans to the buyer.

The Duke Isaac Company representative said his firm recycles the aluminum cans into aluminum sheets and to produce new drink cans for sale to some soft drinks manufacturing companies. He added, “We have not started exporting because we have not even fully met local demand for aluminum sheets and cans. The company is owned by a Chinese in partnership with Nigerians so we have intentions of exporting sometime in future.”

Eno Akpabio, part owner of a waste management business in Lagos said items such as iron materials, plastics, paper, rubber, food wastes, foams, glass are also recycled and therefore in demand. She added, “Companies buy the wastes they recycle from truck owners, cart pushers and scavengers. Those dealing in food waste for manure usually buy the wastes from accredited operatives of the Lagos State Waste Management Agency (LAWMA).” Akpabio said many of the companies recycling wastes are owned by Chinese and Indian firms and many are located in Ikorodu, Ogba, Lagos Island and Ota, Ogun State