The Triple R Recycling Team has won the ₦2 million grand prize at the Plastic Waste Solutions 2.0 Competition organised by Digital Peers International (DPI), as the Federal Government intensified efforts to tackle plastic pollution through producer accountability and youth-driven recycling initiatives.
The competition was organised by Digital Peers International (DPI) under the Community Development and Knowledge Management for Plastic Waste Management project, supported by the Global Environment Facility Small Grants Programme (GEF-SGP) implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
The competition, which targeted IT-engaged youths in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and Nasarawa State, showcased innovative solutions aimed at tackling plastic pollution through technology, entrepreneurship and community engagement.
Representing the Minister of Environment, Senior Scientific Officer at the Federal Ministry of Environment, Mr Umaru Murtala, said the Federal Government was strengthening efforts to address plastic pollution through policy reforms, particularly the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) policy, while encouraging young Nigerians to embrace the circular economy.
He explained that the EPR policy places responsibility on manufacturers to manage plastic waste generated from their products.
“EPR stands for Extended Producer Responsibility. It is a policy deliberately designed for producers of plastic to take responsibility for the end-of-life waste generated from their products.”
Murtala added that the policy, implemented in collaboration with the National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA) and the Food and Beverage Recycling Alliance (FBRA), compels manufacturers to participate in waste recovery initiatives.
“The government has put in place a policy geared towards bringing them to the roundtable. This waste is generated from your products—what happens to it? They are held accountable, and it is compulsory.”
He noted that the Federal Ministry of Environment has also developed key policy frameworks, including the National Plastic Action Policy, the National Policy on Plastic Waste Management and the Nigerian Circular Economy Roadmap, to guide sustainable waste management and youth participation in the sector.
“We have developed the National Plastic Action Policy, the National Policy on Plastic Waste Management, and the Nigerian Circular Economy Roadmap. These are policies that the youths trained under this programme can key into.”
According to him, effective waste collection remains the foundation of successful recycling and upcycling efforts across the country.
“The problem of waste begins from the collection. Once it is properly collected, it becomes easier for upcycling and other recycling activities.”
He also described the competition as a platform for nurturing environmentally conscious youths capable of deploying digital technology to solve plastic waste challenges.
“This activity contributes immensely to bringing up youths that will be circular economy-minded and will deploy their ICT skills in plastic waste management. That is just the best way to go.”
Also speaking, Chief Civil Engineer at the Abuja Environmental Protection Board (AEPB), Engr. Francis Nnaemeka Agbarakwe, warned that indiscriminate disposal of plastic waste contributes to environmental conditions that increase malaria risks by blocking drainage channels.
“When these drainages are clogged, stagnant water is created. The plasmodium that causes malaria starts breeding. The mosquito is just the carrier, so when it feeds on the plasmodium and comes back to you, that is where you get malaria. Mosquitoes are part of creation; they cannot go into extinction. But with our own activities, we can eliminate malaria and other environmental diseases that are basically caused by human activities.”
He urged Nigerians to abandon the notion that waste management is solely the responsibility of government, stressing that behavioural change is critical to addressing plastic pollution.
“Most people have this general belief that waste management is for the government to do. You see somebody driving on the road and throwing waste through the window, saying, ‘If we don’t do that, what are the waste pickers going to do?’ We need to change our perception about waste management because everyone has a role to play in keeping the environment clean.”
Agbarakwe further encouraged participants whose innovations did not emerge winners to continue refining their ideas, saying they could still create jobs and address environmental challenges.
“Winner or not, if they decide to move their initiative to the next level, they will definitely get there. When you watch them speak and listen to them, you know they actually did the job themselves. Ideas like this help to create jobs for the youth while also helping to clean up our environment.”
He also advocated greater adoption of recyclable materials and a life-cycle approach to waste management.
“When you produce something for your use, after use, what is the benefit? We should think in terms of the life-cycle system of waste management. If it has no recycling value, we tend to discourage it, especially single-use plastics, because sustainable development means what we do today should not negatively affect tomorrow.”
Calling on youths to explore opportunities in the recycling industry, he said:
“We encourage our youth not to stay idle. This is an opportunity for them to engage themselves meaningfully, make an impact in the community, become relevant, and make money for themselves. Waste management and recycling offer young people a chance to build businesses while contributing to a cleaner environment.”
Chief Executive Officer of Digital Peers International, Dr. Ibukun Odusote, said the organisation’s plastic waste management initiative has exceeded its initial target, reaching more than 4.5 million Nigerians through physical activities and digital engagement.
“When we started, we were targeting being able to reach over two million people. I can say categorically that we have reached more than 4.5 million people by the various things that we have done, especially the online community that we have created in this programme.”
The CEO said the project was designed to empower young Nigerians with the skills and resources needed to become entrepreneurs in plastic waste management, adding that 400 youths were trained and grouped into 100 teams to develop innovative solutions.
“We decided that we were going to look for funding to give training to young people and encourage youth plastic waste management entrepreneurship. We started with 400 young people in 100 teams, and today we have people whose innovations have measured up through this competition.”
She said the programme extended beyond the competition by taking participants into communities to carry out clean-up exercises, engage waste pickers and scavengers, and expose youths to opportunities within the recycling value chain.
“We went to parks, communities and waste dumps. We cleaned up Wuse Market Park and organised waste pickers and scavengers into groups that our youths will continue working with to ensure plastics are properly managed. We also took them to waste dumps so they could see the opportunities in turning waste into energy.”
She disclosed that the role of technology in promoting responsible plastic waste management, revealing that Digital Peers International developed the Green Energy App to educate Nigerians on plastic recycling and environmental sustainability.
“There is an app that we have on the system, the Green Energy App, that gives education on what to do with plastics and how to handle plastics. It is live on the Play Store and can be downloaded, and there are more digital platforms that will still come up.”
She further revealed that the project was not only focused on reducing plastic waste but also on building the knowledge, skills and leadership capacity of young Nigerians to become environmental problem-solvers.
“We firmly believe that sustainable environmental change begins with informed and empowered citizens.
Through structured training programmes, we equipped young Nigerians with practical knowledge and skills in plastic waste management, circular economy principles and environmental stewardship.
The training was designed to move participants beyond theory and encourage them to develop practical solutions for Nigeria’s environmental challenges.”
She revealed that the DPI–SGP Innovation Challenge as a major component of the project, explaining that it was designed to discover and support young innovators with ideas capable of transforming plastic waste management in Nigeria.
“The competition was designed not merely to identify winners but to discover solutions capable of transforming Nigeria’s plastic waste management landscape.
Young innovators presented practical solutions to plastic pollution, with ideas assessed based on innovation, environmental impact and scalability.
The challenge has created a pipeline of talented young innovators whose ideas deserve continued support and partnerships.”
She further explained that technology was used to ensure the impact of the programme continued beyond physical training and community activities.
“These platforms extend the project’s impact beyond physical training programmes.
They create opportunities for continuous learning, collaboration, business development and knowledge exchange.
They also position young innovators to participate meaningfully in Nigeria’s growing circular economy.”
Director of Waste Management at the Nasarawa State Waste Management and Sanitation Authority (NASWAMSA), Ishak Abubakar Ibrahim, said the agency had adopted household waste segregation to promote a circular economy.
“In the planned areas, there’s what we call co-locating in waste management. A house has different waste bins dedicated to plastics, metals, organic and inorganic waste. By doing that, we are trying to promote what we call a circular economy, not a linear economy, because sorting starts from the household before the waste gets to those who are interested in recycling it.”
He commended DPI for its contribution to reducing plastic waste in the state.
“DPI are partners in progress. We have been in partnership with DPI for the past two years, and they are primarily interested in plastic waste management. We are commending their effort because they have succeeded in doing away with plastic waste in our waste streams.”
He, however, called for investment in converting organic waste into fertiliser to support agriculture.
“Plastic waste is just about 25 per cent of our waste stream. What we have mostly are organic wastes. We are now looking for partners who are interested in our organic waste because Nasarawa is an agricultural state, and those wastes can be converted into fertiliser for our farms.”
In her goodwill message, National Coordinator of the Small Grants Programme (SGP)-UNDP Nigeria, Dr (Mrs) Ronke Olubamise, said the innovations presented during the competition demonstrated the capacity of Nigerian youths to solve environmental problems.
“The innovative ideas showcased through this project reaffirm our confidence that young Nigerians possess the talent and determination to develop practical solutions to the environmental challenges facing our country. I congratulate the young innovators whose creativity, resilience and commitment have brought us to this important milestone.”
She described the project as a model for integrating technology, environmental education and youth empowerment to tackle plastic pollution.
“This project is a good example of that vision in action. By combining environmental education, youth empowerment, innovation, technology and strategic partnership, Digital Peers International has demonstrated how local action can contribute meaningfully to addressing plastic pollution and advancing sustainable development.”
Olubamise urged stakeholders to sustain the project’s gains beyond the grant period through continued collaboration, innovation and community engagement.
“Successful projects should not end with the completion of grant activities. They should continue to inspire partnership, innovation and positive change within the communities they serve. I am encouraged by DPI International’s commitment to sustaining the gains already achieved through continued knowledge management, community engagement and support for promising innovations.”
Winner of the Plastic Waste Solutions 2.0 Competition and Chief Executive Officer of Triple R Recycling Limited, Abdullahi Suleiman Eji, said his team’s innovation converts plastic waste into durable interlocking paving stones, providing a solution to both plastic pollution and Nigeria’s infrastructure challenges.
Eji explained that the idea behind the innovation was to address the growing volume of plastic waste while creating an alternative material for road projects.
“We have been able to convert plastic waste into interlocks. We noticed that a lot of our roads are bad, and at the same time, we have plastic all over. We felt, why can’t we take advantage of these plastics that we have in abundance to create affordable road projects for our country? Our interlock is even stronger and will last longer than the cement type that we all know.”
He said the competition helped his team understand the wider impact of their solution, noting that the project addresses two major challenges facing the country—plastic waste management and poor road infrastructure.
“It came as a surprise because we didn’t even know we were solving a major problem until we joined this programme. Our project is something that can solve Nigerian road problems while also addressing the challenge of plastic waste.”
The Triple R Recycling Limited CEO called for support from government, non-governmental organisations and other stakeholders to enable the company to expand the innovation across Nigeria and beyond.
“The support I want from government, NGOs and other stakeholders is for them to come and support us so that we can scale nationally and even internationally. If government supports this project, we are going to solve a major infrastructural gap in Nigeria, especially in road construction, because our interlocks are durable and can last more than 20 years.”