Tadej Znidarcic

Photographer

www.tadejznidarcic.com/

Recycling Lagos

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Location: New York, NY

Nationality: Slovenia

Biography: Tadej Znidarcic is a photographer born in Ljubljana, Slovenia, where he received a university degree in physics. He is a graduate of the International Center of Photography in New York City. In addition to being a photographer, Tadej is also a... MORE

Wecyclers collector Akinsowon A...Lagos after a collecting round.

1 of 30 © 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.

Inside Wecyclers Berger hub, co... collected in the neighborhood.

2 of 30 © 2024 Tadej Znidarcic

Inside Wecyclers Berger hub, collector Idowu Adetunji carries a bag full of plastic bottles that he had collected in the neighborhood.

Sorter Damilola Adetayo moves a...ed at the Wecyclers Berger hub.

3 of 30 © 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.

Esther Afolabi’s work... pay school fees for her child.

4 of 30 © 2024 Tadej Znidarcic

Esther Afolabi’s work as a sorter allows her to pay school fees for her child.

Damilola Adetayo sorts plastic ...ount of materials they process.

5 of 30 © 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.

Sorters at the Wecyclers Berger...m which they remove the labels.

6 of 30 © 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.

After a collecting round, Wecyc...ed materials at the Berger hub.

7 of 30 © 2024 Tadej Znidarcic

After a collecting round, Wecyclers collector Julius Adeyemi parks his modified bicycle full of collected materials at the Berger hub.

Wecyclers customer brings a bro...em for cash or household items.

8 of 30 © 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.

Ayoola Rafiat Oluwabunmi, facil...eam of around 25 young workers.

9 of 30 © 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.

Morgan Samson Akintubosun, mana...have changed through recycling.

10 of 30 © 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.

Broken modified bicycles that c...ld collect even more materials.

11 of 30 © 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.

Wecyclers collectors cycle thro...ghborhood to the next customer.

12 of 30 © 2024 Tadej Znidarcic

Wecyclers collectors cycle through Ebute Metta neighborhood to the next customer.

Wecyclers collector Akinsowon A...r bag. Apapa road, Ebute Metta.

13 of 30 © 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.

Wecyclers collector Akinsowon A...ing his recyclables to the hub.

14 of 30 © 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.

Bintu Adetona collects recyclab...reeding grounds for mosquitoes.

15 of 30 © 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.

Trash is seen in the gutter and...reeding grounds for mosquitoes.

16 of 30 © 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.

Uncollected trash is seen next ...reeding grounds for mosquitoes.

17 of 30 © 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.

Wecyclers collectors Idowu Adet...erger hub, monitors their work.

18 of 30 © 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.

Idowu Adetunji collects recycla...unt of materials they bring in.

19 of 30 © 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.

Remi Olaleye stand in front of ...seholds in multi-family houses.

20 of 30 © 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.

Sorter Damilola Adetayo uses a ...m which they remove the labels.

21 of 30 © 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.

Wecyclers collector Akinsowon A...nt of recyclables they collect.

22 of 30 © 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.

Workers collect recyclables at ... transported to recycling hubs.

23 of 30 © 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.

Wecyclers CEO Wale Adebiyi stan... value in the waste.”

24 of 30 © 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.”

Isiah Esilokun, supervisor crus...household recyclables for sale.

25 of 30 © 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.

Wecyclers collector Akinsowon A...cyclables in the neighbourhood.

26 of 30 © 2024 Tadej Znidarcic

Wecyclers collector Akinsowon Adefemi parks his vehicle at the Berger recycling hub in Ebute Metta after collecting recyclables in the neighbourhood.

Workers stack a bale of plastic...to a plastic crushing facility.

27 of 30 © 2024 Tadej Znidarcic

Workers stack a bale of plastic bottles at the Berger hub. Later, bales are transported to a plastic crushing facility.

At the Wecyclers Olusosun facil... transaction, cans are weighed.

28 of 30 © 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.

Charles Eyonomue, manager of Ol...f since it has a big potential.

29 of 30 © 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.

Wecycler's founder and ... address the needs of the poor.

30 of 30 © 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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Thumbnail of Wecyclers collector Akinsowon Ad_ Lagos after a collecting round.

Thumbnail of Inside Wecyclers Berger hub, col_d collected in the neighborhood.

Thumbnail of Sorter Damilola Adetayo moves a _ved at the Wecyclers Berger hub.

Thumbnail of Esther Afolabi’s work _o pay school fees for her child.

Thumbnail of Damilola Adetayo sorts plastic b_mount of materials they process.

Thumbnail of Sorters at the Wecyclers Berger _om which they remove the labels.

Thumbnail of After a collecting round, Wecycl_ted materials at the Berger hub.

Thumbnail of Wecyclers customer brings a brok_eem for cash or household items.

Thumbnail of Ayoola Rafiat Oluwabunmi, facili_team of around 25 young workers.

Thumbnail of Morgan Samson Akintubosun, manag_ have changed through recycling.

Thumbnail of Broken modified bicycles that co_uld collect even more materials.

Thumbnail of Wecyclers collectors cycle throu_ighborhood to the next customer.

Thumbnail of Wecyclers collector Akinsowon Ad_er bag. Apapa road, Ebute Metta.

Thumbnail of Wecyclers collector Akinsowon Ad_ging his recyclables to the hub.

Thumbnail of Bintu Adetona collects recyclabl_breeding grounds for mosquitoes.

Thumbnail of Trash is seen in the gutter and _breeding grounds for mosquitoes.

Thumbnail of Uncollected trash is seen next t_breeding grounds for mosquitoes.

Thumbnail of Wecyclers collectors Idowu Adetu_Berger hub, monitors their work.

Thumbnail of Idowu Adetunji collects recyclab_ount of materials they bring in.

Thumbnail of Remi Olaleye stand in front of t_useholds in multi-family houses.

Thumbnail of Sorter Damilola Adetayo uses a k_om which they remove the labels.

Thumbnail of Wecyclers collector Akinsowon Ad_unt of recyclables they collect.

Thumbnail of Workers collect recyclables at W_r transported to recycling hubs.

Thumbnail of Wecyclers CEO Wale Adebiyi stand_e value in the waste.”

Thumbnail of Isiah Esilokun, supervisor crush_ household recyclables for sale.

Thumbnail of Wecyclers collector Akinsowon Ad_ecyclables in the neighbourhood.

Thumbnail of Workers stack a bale of plastic _ to a plastic crushing facility.

Thumbnail of At the Wecyclers Olusosun facili_e transaction, cans are weighed.

Thumbnail of Charles Eyonomue, manager of Olu_of since it has a big potential.

Thumbnail of Wecycler's founder and f_l address the needs of the poor.

Public Story

Recycling Lagos

Copyright Tadej Znidarcic 2024

Updated Apr 2023

Location Lagos, Nigeria

Topics Spotlight

Each day residents of Lagos, Nigeria - the largest city in Africa with a population of over 20 million - produce 14,000 tons of waste. Only 40% of the waste is formally collected. What's not scavenged and sold to middle men ends up in gutters, channels and finally, the ocean. In a few neighborhoods of Lagos, an innovative social enterprise called Wecyclers is working on changing people's mindsets about waste management. They encourage residents to collect recyclables - plastic, paper and cans - for which they accumulate points redeemable for household items or cash. Collected materials are sorted at Wecyclers' facilities and sold to recycling companies. Currently, Wecyclers provides employment to approximately 200 mostly young men and women and processes about 3 tons of waste per day. It might not be much in this mega city of millions, but it's nevertheless significant for people participating in the program. 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 ground for mosquitoes.

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