#Recycling in Developing #Africa

Every day around the world, people throw away things when they are no longer needed or in use. And every day people discard solid #wastes and lots of paper into garbage cans and bags for collectors, or worst still we litter our immediate environment with these wastes. Sometimes, we discard an old shirt or blouse or worn out automobile tyres.  And once in a long while, you discard something really big, perhaps an old refrigerator or a very old car.  Also, after lunch we throw away cans after emptying the contents of a soft drink or fruit juice, and we discard empty bottles of milk after breakfast most mornings. If we were to weigh all these solid wastes it will amount to several millions of metric tons a  year for each country!

#Wastes are materials that we can no longer use in our homes, businesses, industries or elsewhere. Actually they are valuable resources and we have not yet learned how to reuse them as fully as possible, especially in Africa. We do reuse or reclaim some paper, glass, and metals. This is done by #recycling-that is, by using them as raw materials for manufacture of new useful products. For instance, discarded iron can be returned to the steel mills and reused. Glass of discarded bottles can be recast into new bottles. Old newspapers can be remade into paper products.  However, most waste materials are disposed of simply by placing them somewhere. They should preferably be disposed of in a manner that will not harm the environment. Yet, this is not always the case. With the enormous effect of #greenhouse, #acid rain, #pollution and #global warning, the African environment is no exception to the solution and sustainability measures that the developed world has been undertaking. One of such solutions proffered, is the #recycling of solid #waste materials as mentioned above.

#RECYCLING means to treat things that have been used before so that they can be used again, according to the Oxford Advanced learner’s dictionary.  This all so important activity can be looked on, as the process of collecting and processing materials that would otherwise be thrown away as trash, thereby turning them into new and useful products. #Recycling can and will benefit immensely the African communities and #environment at large. 

The seriousness of land pollution in West African countries and #Africa generally stems from the fact that the tradition and culture of recycling as a whole has not yet been imbibed in the context of African living. Therefore, taking a survey around urban communities in Africa, solid waste products and materials which constitute house hold refuse and commercial rubbish can be seen to litter the environment incessantly.  This in turn has given way to terrible odours which plague the atmosphere, making it very difficult to breathe fresh air. Air pollution is largely a very common phenomenon in the urbanization process on the #African continent. This however is as a result of inadequate solid waste disposal systems. Water bodies which include lakes, rivers, and streams are also seen to be heavily polluted by this demise. Aquatic and human life are an endangered species because of the cruel acts of dumping refuse – solid wastes- where it is not wanted.

Recycling in African countries such as Nigeria should be looked into and taken very seriously as one of the means of sustainable development. Owing to the high rate of consumption on the continent in recent times, the African continent as a whole regarding the development of our environment, can and will benefit immensely from the recycling process. The environment can be sustained, conserved, and protected, if this activity is strategically planned, adhered to and put into motion on a consistent basis.

From the analysis of the effects of recycling in developed nations like the United States and developed countries in the European Union, one can see the outstanding positive effects of this activity on the environment. To a very large extent the natural and man-made environment is very clean, tidy and rid of refuse litter which is the main characteristics of the African environment. Taking a cue from these developed countries, it can be noted that recycling is a very coherent part of the culture and economy, thus, this has given way to sustainable development.

Recyclable products include waste materials such as bottles, cans, plastics, paper, glass, batteries, fluorescent tubes, cardboard, engine oil, scrap metal, textiles and timber. Instead of littering the environment and filling open dump sites with these solid wastes which constitute a nuisance, and health hazards to passersby and inhabitants who live around such areas, the African governments of countries like Nigeria, Gambia, Uganda and Kenya among the lot, can jumpstart the recycling process and put in place adequate measures to ensure that these waste materials are recycled to ensure reusing these waste products and reducing the impact made on natural resources such as timber and metals, in order to conserve them for the future.

 The right steps and strategies should be embarked upon to find out how countries in the developed world with existing policies as regards recycling are actualized and are currently operating. These steps and measures can be applied and implemented in well thought out and strategized environmental programmes focused on recycling, to bring about the desired effect and long term remedy to the problems of  insufficient solid waste disposal procedures in Africa. Such unique strategies should be imbibed with the right mindset of alacrity, thoroughness, consistency, and should also be characterized by prolonged continuation of these development policies for long term, and even generational results; because such virtues are so often bereft in the African mentality as regards issues which have been designed to bring about a sustainable development. It is therefore essential that these steps be taken to heart and not just to the head! Also, recycling could and will bring about an improved economy to most African nations. Production costs are cut if constant recycling is done, and these recycled products are used at subsequent production levels. This, will however, lower prices of products and subsequently ensure higher quantities of products, and the ultimate effect is a drastic turn in the inflation trend.

In conclusion, some of the benefits of recycling are not farfetched.  First of all, recycling reduces the amount of wastes sent to the landfills and incinerators. Solid waste matter is greatly reduced when glass, bottles, cans, textiles, scrap metals etc. are carefully selected and sent to the plant for recycling. Secondly, natural resources such as timber, metals and water are highly conserved when products made from them are recycled. Thirdly, pollution of the environment is prevented because the need to exploit the environment by extracting new raw materials is drastically reduced. For example, the incessant felling of trees for timber in Africa especially in Nigeria, has led to  deforestation which is the indiscriminate removal of vegetation cover, which in turn leaves the environment bare and susceptible to wind and land erosion, and subsequently flooding. This however, in turn leaves the environment acutely degraded. Recycling saves energy and reduces green-house gas emissions that contribute to global climate change. 

Furthermore, Recycling helps to sustain the environment for future generations. When natural  resources are conserved,  there is an abundant reserve for posterity. More so, recycling helps to provide new well paying jobs in both recycling and manufacturing industries; the rising levels of unemployment in Africa especially can be checked if recycling as an industry is developed and operations put in place to effective use across the continent. Hence, the three simple basic steps to recycling include: collection and processing, manufacturing, and purchasing new products made from recycling.

Finally, the man-made African environment is continuously built and minuses are constantly made in the natural environment. Thus, recycling is one strategic way of reducing these minuses, and ensuring sustainable development on the African continent.