Waste management remains a significant issue in Nigeria. Major cities like Abuja and Lagos generate thousands of tons of waste daily, and their recycling or disposal systems must be improved. This poor waste management system has led to overflowing landfills, pollution, and blocked drainage systems, contributing to flooding during the rainy season. Rita Idehai saw waste not as trash but as a currency and decided to build technologies to collect, tokenise and transform waste into new lifestyle products.
Since founding Ecobarter in 2018, Rita Idehai has championed this cause. In September 2023, she became the president of the Recyclers Association of Nigeria (RAN).
“7 years ago, I was just a young, naive girl when I first sat in the board room of Abuja Environmental Protection Board (AEPB). It was barely 3 weeks after I started testing out my recycling business idea, and no one cared what I had to say. Today, I sat across executives of the Abuja Environmental Protection Board to negotiate the terms of engagement…,” Rita Idehai.
Recycling Waste to save the environment
While studying Geosciences, the innovator realised how severe the waste management issue was during her university years, particularly in Nigerian cities where poor waste disposal practices affected the environment and public health.
Thus, after completing her studies in 2018, she decided to act on her passion for sustainability; this was how Ecobarter began. Ecobarter encourages Nigerians to recycle by offering them a reward system. They use a mobile app and community hubs to create a system where households can exchange recyclable waste for redeemable points for cash or goods.
The Ecobarter mobile app allows individuals to easily schedule waste pickups or locate nearby recycling hubs to drop off materials. Once the recyclable waste is collected, users earn points, which are stored in their Ecobarter wallets and can later be used to redeem cash or goods. This easy and transparent process has made recycling more appealing to Nigerians, who often need to become more familiar with formal waste management systems.
Initially starting in Abuja, the company caught the eye of the city’s inhabitants with its community-based approach to recycling. By 2019, it expanded its operations to other cities like Lagos and Ogun States, emphasising the importance of educating communities about recycling and how it benefits them.
As of 2022, Ecobarter has reached 13 communities, recovered 1,200 tons of waste, avoided 2000 tons of CO2 and redeemed over N15 million ($8,925.43).
Beyond environmental benefits, the company has created opportunities for youth and women. It runs training programs to teach people how to transform waste into products that can be sold, further promoting economic empowerment. Local community women have learned how to turn discarded plastic bags into durable fabrics, which provides them with an average monthly revenue of N60,000 ($35.7), which is a big deal for these women.
Others, like Rebecca Bulus, a cleaner who earns below the minimum wage, have been able to earn more money to augment their monthly earnings by becoming collectors on the Ecobarter app. She is delighted that she can constantly withdraw enough to cover her children’s transportation and emergency healthcare bills. Ecobarter’s waste pickers empowerment programme has provided literacy development, training, and funding for over 50 informal waste workers, 60% of whom are women.
The company’s training programme and expansion into more states are just the beginning. Twenty months and three tech teams later, Idehai launched Nigeria’s first Reverse Vending Machine. Led by Oluyomi Banjo and the Government of Japan, they have commissioned 25 of these machines to be distributed around Abuja, thanks to the trust and support of UNIDO.
For her work with Ecobarter, Rita Idehai has received several awards and has been featured in several media outlets. The sustainability advocate also wants to build more recycling hubs in cities nationwide to ensure everyone has access to sustainable waste disposal options.
