Public Project
Recycling Lagos
2,500
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Recycling Lagos
Location: New York, NY
Nationality: Slovenia
Covering:
Africa,
Asia,
Europe,
Oceania,
USA & Canada
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© 2024 Tadej Znidarcic
Wecyclers collector Akinsowon Adefemi parks his vehicle at the Berger recycling hub in Ebute Metta neighborhood of Lagos after a collecting round.
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© 2024 Tadej Znidarcic
Inside Wecyclers Berger hub, collector Idowu Adetunji carries a bag full of plastic bottles that he had collected in the neighborhood.
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© 2024 Tadej Znidarcic
Sorter Damilola Adetayo moves a bag full of plastic bottles from which the labels had been removed at the Wecyclers Berger hub.
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© 2024 Tadej Znidarcic
Esther Afolabi’s work as a sorter allows her to pay school fees for her child.
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© 2024 Tadej Znidarcic
Damilola Adetayo sorts plastic bottles and removes paper labels from bottles at Wecyclers' Berger hub in Ebute Metta. Sorters are paid according to the amount of materials they process.
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© 2024 Tadej Znidarcic
Sorters at the Wecyclers Berger hub in Ebute Metta sort plastic bottles and remove their labels. Sorters are paid by the amount of bottles from which they remove the labels.
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© 2024 Tadej Znidarcic
After a collecting round, Wecyclers collector Julius Adeyemi parks his modified bicycle full of collected materials at the Berger hub.
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© 2024 Tadej Znidarcic
Wecyclers customer brings a broken plastic chair and other recyclables to the Berger hub in Ebute Metta. Plastic is weighed and the amounts of different materials are recorded. Customers collect points that they can then redeem for cash or household items.
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© 2024 Tadej Znidarcic
Ayoola Rafiat Oluwabunmi, facility manager at Wecyclers Berger hub in Ebute Metta, studied environmental microbiology. She completed her industrial training at the Berger hub and now oversees a team of around 25 young workers.
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© 2024 Tadej Znidarcic
Morgan Samson Akintubosun, manager of collecting operations at the Wecyclers' Berger hub in Ebute Metta, stands next to a tricycle filled with recyclables collected in the area. He appreciates that they're creating employment opportunities and that people's lives have changed through recycling.
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© 2024 Tadej Znidarcic
Broken modified bicycles that collectors use are stored in a room at Wecyclers Berger hub in Ebute Metta. Bicycles often brake down due to uneven and potholed roads. If equipment wasn't regularly breaking down, Wecyclers could collect even more materials.
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© 2024 Tadej Znidarcic
Wecyclers collectors cycle through Ebute Metta neighborhood to the next customer.
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© 2024 Tadej Znidarcic
Wecyclers collector Akinsowon Adefemi transfers plastic bottles that Wecyclers customer Bintu Adefona had collected into a bigger bag. Apapa road, Ebute Metta.
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© 2024 Tadej Znidarcic
Wecyclers collector Akinsowon Adefemi sits inside the collecting vehicle. He appreciates that he gets paid regularly and can also make extra money by bringing his recyclables to the hub.
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© 2024 Tadej Znidarcic
Bintu Adetona collects recyclables to “get the rewards and keep the environment clean”. In addition to earning money from waste they used to throw away, residents benefit from cleaner environment - gutters that are not blocked by trash are less likely to be breeding grounds for mosquitoes.
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© 2024 Tadej Znidarcic
Trash is seen in the gutter and next to the gutter in Shomolu neighborhood. Plastic bottles, bags, paper and other trash often end in gutters, blocking them, thereby creating breeding grounds for mosquitoes.
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© 2024 Tadej Znidarcic
Uncollected trash is seen next to a tuk-tuk and a gutter. Uncollected trash is often scattered around and can end in gutters, blocking them, thereby creating breeding grounds for mosquitoes.
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© 2024 Tadej Znidarcic
Wecyclers collectors Idowu Adetunji (right) and Julius Adeyemi weigh collected plastic bottles while Morgan Samson Akintubosun (left), manager of collecting operations at the Wecyclers' Berger hub, monitors their work.
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© 2024 Tadej Znidarcic
Idowu Adetunji collects recyclables with a modified bicycle in Ebute Metta neighborhood of Lagos. Collectors are paid by the amount of materials they bring in.
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© 2024 Tadej Znidarcic
Remi Olaleye stand in front of the recyclables he has delivered to Wecyclers Berger hub in Ebute Metta. He holds a card where the amounts of recyclables he has collected are recorded. Older people mostly take responsibility for recycling. They are more often at home and they collect materials from several households in multi-family houses.
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© 2024 Tadej Znidarcic
Sorter Damilola Adetayo uses a knife to remove labels from plastic bottles. Sorters are paid by the amount of bottles from which they remove the labels.
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© 2024 Tadej Znidarcic
Wecyclers collector Akinsowon Adefemi notes the amount of recyclables into a log book. Collectors are paid by the amount of recyclables they collect.
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© 2024 Tadej Znidarcic
Workers collect recyclables at Wecyclers main office on Lagos Island. When people in the neighborhood learned they can make money from plastic bottles they started to bring them to the office. Bottles are stored in the courtyard and later transported to recycling hubs.
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© 2024 Tadej Znidarcic
Wecyclers CEO Wale Adebiyi stands in the courtyard of Wecyclers' head office on Lagos Island. He is proud that the company is changing mindsets: “People now see value in the waste.”
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© 2024 Tadej Znidarcic
Isiah Esilokun, supervisor crusher at Olusosun facility, used to work in printing and at a petrol station. His job is to oversee the crushing of plastic bottles. Now that he works in recycling, he's also started collecting his household recyclables for sale.
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© 2024 Tadej Znidarcic
Wecyclers collector Akinsowon Adefemi parks his vehicle at the Berger recycling hub in Ebute Metta after collecting recyclables in the neighbourhood.
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© 2024 Tadej Znidarcic
Workers stack a bale of plastic bottles at the Berger hub. Later, bales are transported to a plastic crushing facility.
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© 2024 Tadej Znidarcic
At the Wecyclers Olusosun facility Charles Eyonomue, manager (in a shirt), talks to customers (on the left) who came to buy aluminum cans from Wecyclers. Before the transaction, cans are weighed.
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© 2024 Tadej Znidarcic
Charles Eyonomue, manager of Olusosun plastics crushing facility, studied mechanical engineering. He knew recycling is something he wanted to be part of since it has a big potential.
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© 2024 Tadej Znidarcic
Wecycler's founder and former CEO Bilikiss Adebiyi-Abiola started Wecyclers while studying at MIT Sloan School of Management. She wanted to tackle Lagos' waste management problem as well as find solutions that will address the needs of the poor.
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