As a follow up to my earlier write-up on recycling of scrap iron and steel in Nigeria, I did a study on the recycling of paper in Nigeria. Although there has been increased awareness on the need to recycle waste, the recycling industry in Nigeria is largely driven by individual initiatives coupled with entrepreneurial abilities which seem to be way ahead of government responsibilities in that regards.

In Lagos, some creative individuals have devised ways to solve the problem of packaging commodities bought from departmental stores and open market by consumers. These individuals or local entrepreneurs as they could otherwise be called, go around collecting waste papers from newspaper houses and offices. These papers are then remade into paper packaging bags of different sizes and sold to shops.

There are few plants that recycle waste paper in the country, one of which is Bel Papyrus Ltd. These industries collect waste papers of different categories such as unprinted white bond papers, white office papers, notebooks, magazines, newspapers, cartoon boxes amongst others and recycle these waste papers into stationery products of daily uses such as tissues jumbo reels and toilet tissues.

The recycling of papers starts with the sorting out of the waste papers into different grades as different grades of paper are used to make different paper products. The recovered papers are then transported to the recycling centers and then subsequently transported to the paper mills where it is recycled into new products.

However, the recycling industry is faced with the challenges of adequate funding and inefficient electricity supply. This has hindered the effectiveness of the industry and reduced the number of individuals willing to venture into it. Therefore, the government needs to create a legal framework and implement effective policies to encourage the reuse and recycling of wastes in the country.

REFERENCES:

Awa, O. (2015). Paper Packaging: Turning Waste to Wealth. June 28th. Accessed from: http://www.guardian.ng.

Recycling of waste papers to tissue jumbo reels. Accessed from: http://chm.covenantuniversity.edu.ng.

PHOTO CREDITS:

http://www.opic.gov/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/papyrus.jpg 

http://www.guardian.ng/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/small-packs.jpg