UNILEVER ENTERPRENEURSHIP PROGRAMME

TOPIC:THE HEALTH, SAFETY AND FUTURE OF THE PLANET DEPEND ON YOU. WORK TO TACKLE WORLDS GREATEST SUSTAINABILITY CHALLENGES.

YEAR FOUNDED:2015

ORGANISATION TYPE:RECYCLING

PROJECT STAGE:IDEA

BUDGET:$20,000-45,000

  1. CONCISE SUMMARY: HELP US PITCH THIS SOLUTION! PROVIDE AN EXPLANATION WITHIN 3-4 SHORT SENTENCES.

I plan to use this mini recycling pilot start-up as a tool to encourage, entrench and make trendy at the moral side of most individuals and communities that it is our collective social civil responsibility to manage the scarce resources so as to reduce and reuse waste generated from raw material that the sensitive ecosystem supporting human activity and different life forms depends on. We must look after our environment the way it takes care of us. By recycling, already depleted natural resources will mean looming danger.

  1. WHAT IF-INSPIRATION: WRITE ONE SENTENCE THAT DESCRIBES A WAY THAT YOUR PROJECT DARES TO ASK—WHAT IF?

What if families and individuals save cost and make money through conscious and organized trashing pattern. It cost less to the environment to recycle than landfilling and incineration which is good for climate stability.

ABOUT PROJECT

PROBLEM: WHAT PROBLEMS IS THIS PROJECT TRYING TO ADDRESS

In most developing countries, an average person or family unit never bothers about the negative impact of consumerism on the environment. The rush for raw material and resources by industries, organizational venture-projects and lifestyle, ignoring the consequences of squeezing an already stretched ecological balance is a thing to worry about and proffer solution before it is too late.

SOLUTION: WHAT IS THE PROPOSED SOLUTION? PLEASE BE SPECIFIC.

The solutions are numerous but starts from initiative and programs that suggest mutual benefit to individual, families and communities as a whole by interesting measures as;-

  • Incentives to be consumer conscious on certain products that affects the environmental factors adversely
  • Pay-as-you-throw programs; where waste generated by families are in return exchanged for cash or other service discount
  • Encourage disposal companies through incentives to recycle more and dispose-off less.
  • Job creation: unemployment is one of the world’s major security threats and challenges as more youths are jobless. With recycling, for every job collecting recyclables, there are 26 jobs in processing the materials and manufacturing them into new products.
  • Natural resources benefits: for every ton of paper recycled saves 17 trees. Recycling conserves natural resources such as timber, water and animals without which our future survival is uncertain.
  • Establishing mini-collection, sorting, gathering and disposal centers that also serve as an awareness and consultation outfits on the many benefits of careful/thoughtful purchasing and disposal decision to low-income communities by highlighting and emphasizing on the economic benefits of exchanging waste for cash or discount on services other than incineration or littering.

IMPACT: WHAT IS THE IMPACT OF THE WORK TO DATE? ALSO DESCRIBE THE PROJECT FUTURE IMPACT

ANS:This is a new start-up idea. Its operational principles may be entirely new in the system but its novel and innovative from where I come. By putting value and cash to trash or disposal waste in a continent experiencing explosive population growth, there will obviously be an increased demand and competition for scarce resources such as food, water, energy and minerals-recycling will help manage excesses.

PROJECT FUTURE IMPACT

  • The impact intended is to a cost-saver through efficient and innovative waste collection and disposal methods, and a means of affecting the general community of decisions and actions that uphold environmental standards, livable surroundings, reduce pollution due to high industrialization and rapid population growth in the cities that leads to infrastructure overstretch and resultant aesthetic beauty ruin.
  • Recycling companies continue to operate and expand. They wouldn’t if it doesn’t make economic sense.
  • Job creation: in the U.S, recycling creates 1.1million jobs, $236billion in gross annual sales and $37billion in annual payrolls. I want to replicate that in Nigeria with our huge consumerism thirst and a vibrant youth demand for trendy, modern lifestyle and high living standards.

ENVIRONMENT AND CLIMATE

  • As the world turns toward a low-carbon growth path, new business opportunities, low carbon products and services already generated more revenue than the global aerospace and defense sectors in 2008, according to HSBC estimates. The growth of green-jobs outstripped overall jobs by over 5% in U.S.

How can countries address the challenges to sustainable development while making the most of its opportunities? One key strategy is to conserve resources and use them efficiently, since resources will get scarcer and more expensive.

Recycling conserves natural resources, such as timber, water and minerals. Mining is the world’s most deadly occupation. On average, 40 mine workers are killed on the job each day and many more injured. Recycling reduces the need for mining.

  • It takes 95% less energy to recycling aluminum than it does to make it from raw material

It takes 60% less energy to recycle steel than it does with raw material.

It takes 40% less energy to recycle newspaper

It takes 70% less energy to recycle plastic

It takes 40% less energy to recycle glass

  • Recycling eases the demand for mineral resources that sparked brutal wars killing millions and raising $12billion a year for rebels and warlords.
  • It reduces toxic emissions from industries processing minerals that pollute air and water of up to millions of tons each year.

FULL IMPACT POTENTIAL: WHAT ARE THE MAIN SPREAD STRATEGIES MOVING FORWARD?

  • The pilot state will be Kaduna, where I grew up, and it’s the state capital and the biggest city by function. To establish mini-collection and sorting spaces/offices where waste/trash material which will be periodically collected from different neighborhoods radius gathered and transported to negotiated industries.
  • Collectors will be compensated base on nature/type and weight of valued waste material supplied using scale measures after inspection.
  • Every three (3) months spread schedule will be activated to move into fresh provinces of high activity. Kano State, known as the dirtiest northern state dense with numerous industries and factories and boasting the status of a megapolitan city with population of over 12million people. This will definitely be an opportunity to help the communities and environment.
  • This approach intends to sensitize the public through innovative disposal systems, productive waste generation and disposal, promoting sustainable development blueprint through recycling as a reliable, clever and low cost, green project.
  • Special collector baskets/bin to be produced and distributed at reduced rate to schools, industries and factories, homes, streets, malls, restaurants, camps, hotels, entertainment grounds and parks to be routinely collected.

AWARENESS METHODS

Flyers will be produced and distributed fairly, radio adverts, associations and organizations will be partnered, informed and involved. Bulk sms services to be used. Religious and social gatherings to be a tool of spreading function and services of the company so to make benefits practical.

FINANCIAL SUSTAINABILITY PLAN: WHAT IS THIS SOLUTIONS PLAN TO ENSURE THIS INITIATIVE’S FINANCIAL SUSTAINABILITY?

Revenue will be generated from the sale of sorted and packaged recycle-ready waste. Other financial vendors and from environmental sustainability organizational grants, World bank aid for green start-ups, United Nations aid for green enterprises, public-private partnership, public sector waste management agreement.

MARKET PLACE: WHO ELSE IS ADDRESSING THE PROBLEM OUTLINED HERE? HOW DOES THE PROPOSED PROJECT DIFFER FROM THESE APPROACHES?

Wastecellence are waste managers with no immediate plan to foray into recycling in the city of Kaduna. There are few similar practitioners with same function of waste collection, sorting, gathering and disposal system where by territories captured are provided with waste drums which is sold to registered and subscribed household and offices at a reduced price and in the same gesture collect waste at scheduled-periodic time-weekly or bimonthly whom pay a fixed amount for collected waste and majorly in slums, low-income neighborhoods or squatter settlements.

  • My approach is unique in a way that it is novel and innovative, rewarding and empowering, educative or awareness methods are employed to create or maintain green, clean, sustainable, healthy and wealthy communities through the pay-as-you-throw, incentives and sorted waste exchange programs.
  • Various collector containers will be made available for a particular type of material waste-institutions and schools for plastic and paper bags, hotels, offices, parks and recreational gardens and households, selected market sections and mini-manufacturing industries. All will have bins, bags and metal containers or modified containers for particular product as bottles/glass, paper, tires, rubber and plastic, metal scrap, furniture and cans to avoid wanton dumps.
  • This project gradually expands to rural areas when sound, cost-analysis is considered.
  • This measure intends to reduce the environmental abuse through pollution, flying waste are non-biodegradable. Recycling makes the scarce mineral resources sustainable and makes our lifestyle green, clean and healthier in character in a world of ever-rapid population increase.

TEAM

Samson Alhamdu Ibrahim is the ideator, originator and founder of this proposed project. Having mentors, specialist and experts on environmental management, industrial activity, social entrepreneurs I will partner with. Together with associated or similar organizations expertise advice and collaboration to make it an absolute reality and functional venture.

Samson Ibrahim is an experienced and trained urban and regional planner, environmentalist and a fervent sustainable development drive-agent practitioner.