Lagos.
The largest city in Nigeria. A city riddled with violence and crime. A city that is deemed incredibly dangerous after dark. A city with a high unemployment rate and a huge environmental issue. A city that one young, black woman found great potential in.
MEET BILIKISS ADEBIYI
Bilikiss Adebiyi, a Nigerian woman born in Lagos, is the founder and CEO of Wecyclers. Wecyclers is a collection and recycling service based in Lagos, Nigeria focused on cleaning up the heeps of trash that have polluted the city of Lagos. Adebiyi got the idea for the company while attending MIT Sloan School of Management for her MBA. She decided to take what she learned in school, as well as, her years of working as an engineer in corporate America and built this for-profit start up.
WECYCLERS
Wecyclers is a for-profit organization that has not only minimized the amount of waste in the city, but has produced many jobs for the Lagos residents. Collectors ride around in cargo bikes, known as wecycles, and collect recyclables from various households. The recyclables are then brought to various hubs around the Lagos area where they are sorted and packaged.
The company also implemented an incentive program that would reward residents in points for every kilogram of trash that was recycled. The residents are able to redeeem the points and use them to buy food and other household necessities.
The organization has grown and now have vans and trucks that can have a larger reach throughout the city.
POLLUTION AND ITS EFFECTS
Lagos generates more than $10,000 tons of waste. This not only causes environmental issues, but health issues for the residents of Lagos. With the amount of trash located in Lagos, the residents are exposed to various diseases such as Malaria. The trash can also cause major damage to property and can aid in floods.
AN INSPIRATION TO EVERY COMMUNITY
Adebiyi is a pioneer in her community and a great example of taking a dream and going for it full force. She saw a major problem growing up in this commmunity and decided to do something that would not only clean up her community, but would clear a lot of health issues for the residents.
IT TAKES A COMMUNITY
While Adebiyi had an amazing idea, it took a city supporting that vision to bring it into fruition and create a lasting impact. She showed us that community cooperation can drastically and positively change our environment.
A lot of people, especially in America, have a helping hand in consumerism. Black women, alone, spend trillions of dollars every year on consumer goods. We spend so much that if even a third of us stopped spending, we would hurt the economy. The problem is once we are done with these goods, they are tossed aside and forgotten. This waste eventually ends up not only in our communities, but amongst the already existing piles at the landfills.
We do have incentives in place to recycle, but a lot of people don't take it seriously enough. If you travel to places like NY, you will see street after street packed with so much trash. If we do not take care of where we live, what does that say about us?
A lot of the issues we face today are due to pollution and we need to start implementing actual actions that will cause lasting effects just like Adebiyi. A lot of us don't realize how important waste is and how it plays a key role in the health of an environment and the people of that environment. Even if a few of us start working towards helping our environment, it could set a good example for others.
A community is powerful and can do a lot of good when everyone works together. Everyone of us making a little change, will make a huge impact in the environment. Adebiyi has not only brought together a city, but has implemented the importance of taking care of an environment, as a community.
Bilikiss Adebiyi is the epitome of a triple threat.
"Waste is a resource. we are used to dumping waste and not thinking twice about it, but we want people to know that there is actual value in waste. We want to empower people with waste." -Bilikiss Adebiyi
About the Creator
Nicky
An aspiring writer.
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