As part of efforts to ensure a cleaner and more habitable university community for students, the Statewide Waste and Environmental Education Foundation (SWEEP Foundation) and The Coca Cola Foundation (TCCF) have collaborated and commenced the Green Campus Project to ensure Nigerian university campuses are rid of plastics wastes and aid recycling acceleration in Nigeria.
This is in line with the reality that daily, the society collectively faces environmental and social challenges that impact people around the world and a major issue is the challenge of proper waste management which requires bold solutions.
The response to this challenge from the TCCF is to provide a grant to support a local NGO, SWEEP Foundation, on their ‘Green Campus Project’, designed to facilitate the implementation of a comprehensive waste management program across selected university campuses in Nigeria.
The project in its pilot phase is collaborating with selected higher educational institutions in Nigeria by providing waste and environmental education, establishing university campus community drop-off points and recycling hubs, while simultaneously providing an additional income stream for the campus community youth who participate in the program.
The implementation of this waste reduction scheme will facilitate the deployment of key infrastructures and mobile collection receptacles across participating institutions in the country which is expected to help in accelerating and improving collection of discarded plastic bottles (PET) leveraging targeted awareness programs on campus community recycling.
The Green Campus Project has been flagged off in the University of Ibadan last week and is scheduled for flag off at other selected institutions; University of Benin, University of Nigeria, Enugu Campus, University of Port-Harcourt and Obafemi Awolowo University.
The main focus of the project will be galvanizing support for more sustainable means of dealing with packaging waste through cost effective aggregation models while also aspiring to eliminate waste incineration which is a common practice in many institutions in Nigeria.
The project is supporting 250 students with training, logistic, PPE and other incentives in each campus-based recycling and waste collection hub as they volunteer the various drop-off centers.
Speaking during the launch which took place at the University of Ibadan, Amb. Phillips Obuesi, President, SWEEP Foundation, reiterated the impact of the program on the selected universities and surrounding communities. He emphasised that “university campuses suffer from indiscriminate waste disposal habits of its staff and students, mostly occasioned by low – level awareness and inadequate infrastructures to support proper waste management across these campuses.
“Tertiary institutions as change agents in society play a central role in supporting students to forge more sustainable habits that are necessary to tackle plastic pollution. The Green Campus Project is therefore strategically positioned to lead the charge in these universities,” he added.
Also speaking, the TCCF President, Saadia Madsbjerg, said, “We recognize that student communities are critical stakeholders in our broad strategy to preserve and protect our ecosystem. We are proud to support this initiative which will not only improve the waste value chain of Campuses in Nigeria but will also help inspire an entire generation of environmental advocates.”
On her part, speaking during the official launch at the University of Ibadan, the Director of Public Affairs at The Cocacola Company, Nwamaka Onyemelukwe, emphasised the need for youths to be involved in environmental sustainability, adding that the university environment is the best tutorial ground for such as more youths will be reached and they will be able to reach more of their peers within and outside the university community with the message of proper waste disposal to save the environment and healthy living.
The Green Campus Project was launched last week at the University of Ibadan in collaboration with local implementing partners; Recycledge, SWEEP Foundation and it mobilised corporate businesses, government agencies and other stakeholders, to harness the power of partnership in addressing the plastic waste challenge in the University of Ibadan and its surrounding communities.
SWEEP Foundation is a non -governmental organization committed to addressing environmental and waste management issues and taking action to improve the environment through waste and environmental education programs while The Coca-Cola Foundation’s mission is to make a difference in communities around the world where The Coca-Cola Company operates and and its employees live and work by supporting transformative ideas and institutions that address complex global challenges and that leave a measurable and lasting impact.
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