The Nigerian Conservation Foundation in partnership with the Oando Foundation trained 40 teachers on the upcycling of waste (converting plastic waste to furniture).
Mrs Abidemi Balogun, Head, Environmental Conservation, NCF, said that the capacity building for teachers and community leaders was part of the ‘Clean Our World’ project, which began last year.
According to her, the project is geared towards changing the orientation of people towards waste management and disposal.
She noted that teachers play critical role in passing on instructions to the students, adding that whatever the teachers would be taught would be eventually passed on to their students and wards.
Also speaking, Mrs Temitope Okunnu, CEO, F.A.B.E. international foundation, an NGO, said that wastes could be mananged in three ways: upcycling, recycling and composting.
Okunnu, whose NGO is passionate about environmental sustainability and mitigating the effects of climate change, called on everyone to be kind in the way the environment was treated.
She noted that modern efforts at waste management had the capacity of making the environment healthier and cleaner, while also putting money into one’s pocket.
Okunnu said: “Waste is not waste until it is completely wasted.”
She said that upcycling was the reuse of waste materials into functional products of high environmental value such as the creative use of tyres to make furniture and the upcycling of plastic bottles to ottoman furniture.
The CEO urged the government to introduce recycling and upcycling of wastes to the school curriculum for the effective management of waste.
She noted that her foundation had trained over 7, 000 persons in waste management.
She enjoined every household to form the habit of composting their waste as composte manure was better than inorganic manures used for farming.
Mrs Christine Adepoju, a participant at the training, expressed her joy at what she learnt.
“The training was very educating. No waste anymore,” Adepoju exclaimed.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that at the end of the training, which took place at Dele Ajomale School complex, Ilasamaja, a suburb of Lagos, 5 ottoman furniture projects was made by upcycling plastic bottles.