Recycling is a multi-billion-dollar industry that young people should key into. This is according to the Oyo State Commissioner for Environment, Mojeed Mogbonjubola, who spoke at an event tagged “Green Hangout” organised by Eleven Eleven Twelve Foundation (EETF) in Ibadan, recently.
“Recycling is a billion-dollar business. The average person will not notice this industry. People have received thousands of dollars in grants for recycling in this city of Ibadan.”
He added: “We have attracted into Ibadan a $192 million recycling plant,” without giving further details.
The commissioner also revealed that Oyo State will, for the first time, be making its appearance at the United Nations climate talks (COP29), holding at Baku, Azerbaijan, from November 11 to 22.
In his remarks, the founder of EETF and convener of the Green Hangout, Adetunji Lam-Adesina, stated that Green Hangout is an event that held annually in various cities of the country, until it took a break during the pandemic.
He said, “This year’s event marked a return to the annual programme that serves as a mentoring and networking event for young environment enthusiasts and practitioners in the host city.
“We work in collaboration with other organisations in line with SDG 17.
“We are hosting this hangout in the Environment Ministry to show that we have what it takes in Oyo State. Oyo State is the pacesetter state. The commissioner has an open door policy and is welcome to new ideas.”
Lam Adesina said, “A lot of young people are doing things around biodiversity, waste management, renewable energy, tree planting and the like. You should be able to work together and have the government back you up. There are a lot of opportunities in this sector where you can make a lot of money.”
He added that sustainability is not just for now, it is for the future. “We need the young people that can drive it,” he noted.
