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Activities of informal recycling sector in North-Central, Nigeria

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DOI: 10.1016/j.nexus.2021.100003

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 Energy Nexus 1 (2021) 100003

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Energy Nexus
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/nexus

Activities of informal recycling sector in North-Central, Nigeria

Toochukwu Chibueze Ogwueleka a, Naveen B P b,∗
a
Civil Engineering, University of Abuja, FCT, Nigeria
b
Department of Civil Engineering, Amity University Haryana, India

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Keywords: This study examines the activities of the informal recycling sector in Abuja, Nigeria. This is no formal recycling
Informal sector programme in Abuja. Scavengers carry out waste segregation and identification for recyclable materials. The
Scavengers questionnaires were administered to one thousand, five hundred (1500) scavengers and scrap dealers (stake-
Abuja
holders) to obtain socioeconomic and demographic characteristics. The questionnaires contain age distribution,
Waste pickers
gender, marital status, education level, working hours, number of stakeholders, citizenship, experience on the
Recycling
Solid waste job, materials recovered, quantities of recyclables, and income. The majority of the scavengers are between the
ages of 21 and 40 years, and they work between 10–12 h. The scavengers are predominantly male. The scav-
engers sort out recyclables 19.76 kg/c/d. The estimated quantity of recyclables generated in Abuja is 133,688 kg
per day (133.688 tons per day). A waste picker earns between N1000 ($2.8) and N1500 ($4.2) per day; itinerant
dealers earn between N1500 ($2.8) and N2000 ($5.6) per day, and scrap dealers earn between N10, 000 ($27.77)
and N15, 000 ($41.67) per day in Abuja. The activities of stakeholders contribute to the recovery and sorting of
secondary waste recyclables. The study highlighted the challenges of scavengers.

Introduction companies, supported by government agencies financially and legally

Waste is any material that is not needed by the owner, producer or
processor. Humans, animals, other living things, and all production and
consumption processes generate waste. It has always been part of the
Earth’s ecosystem, but its nature and scale are so large that the ecosys-
tem can use waste in many of its cycles [1]. Municipal solid waste (MSW)
management is the main challenge facing developing countries [2], but
if ignored, it can easily evolve into a crisis [3]. The formal sector is
responsible for waste management in most countries. However, due to
the reduction of waste management resources in most developing coun-
tries, the formal sector cannot keep up with the rapid generation of
waste. These conditions have left a void for the rise of the informal
sector. Poor urban planning, inadequate policy formulation, increasing
urban population and insufficient resources to provide required services
have exacerbated the problem of unsustainable operation of municipal
solid waste management agencies [4, 5]. All these make it difficult or
impossible for municipal solid waste management agencies to provide
services to certain areas. Generally, the amount of municipal solid waste
generated by Nigerian municipalities exceeds the management capacity
of waste management agencies [4]. Nigeria is no exception, because the
current municipal solid waste practices cannot achieve sustainable de-
velopment. Waste recycling in developing countries is mostly informal.
The informal sector provides waste collection in certain cities without
formal systems [6]. The formal sector is made up of public and private
[7]. The informal sector includes unapproved, unsponsored, unregu-
lated, unregistered, and unregistered individuals, families, groups or
businesses, such as scavengers, garbage collectors, scavengers, garbage
collectors, mobile garbage buyers and scrap dealers, these people work
outside the formal sector. Informal waste collection will not increase
transaction costs in the formal system or generate financial costs for the
public sector [8].
Thousands of people in developing cities rely on recycled waste for
their livelihoods. Focusing on waste strategies to improve millennium
development goals and recycling rates for poverty reduction, one of the
key challenges in solid waste management in developing countries is
livelihood, working conditions and livelihoods. The best way to work
with this informal department to improve recycling efficiency. Munic-
ipal solid waste management plays a key role in achieving the United
Nations Sustainable Development Goals related to livelihoods, poverty,
public health and environmental protection in low- and middle-income
countries. Waste collection is a common phenomenon, which can be
found on the streets or garbage dumps in several developing countries
[9]. The World Bank recognizes the contribution that the informal sec-
tor can serve the poor as a provider of alternative services [10]. The
informal sector helps reduce the amount of waste transferred to land-
fills, environmental pollution, and at the same time create local added
value through the recycling market [11,12]. The informal private sector
has always been an important role in the municipal solid waste manage-

∗
Corresponding author.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nexus.2021.100003
Received 28 April 2021; Received in revised form 18 July 2021; Accepted 28 July 2021
Available online 5 August 2021
2772-4271/© 2021 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
T.C. Ogwueleka and N. B P
Fig. 1. Example of a process flow diagram of an informal recycling system,
showing the four types of informal recycling [18].
ment structure in India, although it has not been recognized to a large
extent and therefore is considered illegal [12,13,14]. Waste collection
activities undoubtedly promote waste management in most developing
countries [9]. The informal waste sector supports approximately 15 mil-
lion people worldwide [15]. Unfortunately, the contribution of the in-
formal sector to solid waste management has been largely unrecognized
[16,17,18,19]. Developing countries have highlighted the contribution
of waste stakeholders to waste recycling [16].
In cities with formal municipal waste collection and disposal sys-
tems, at least four types of informal recycling can be identified, depend-
ing on where and how the items are recovered. whether it takes place
at the location (Fig. 1):
•
Itinerant waste buyers: Waste collectors who often go from door to
door, collecting sorted dry recyclable materials from householders
or domestic servants, which they buy or barter and then transport to
a recycling shop of some kind. Apart from their labour, they invest
capital to acquire and run a vehicle. This activity is widespread all
over the world. Fig. 1 shows the ‘3-wheelers’, or tricycles used in
Bangkok. China, in particular, is highly dependent on this mode of
informal recycling [16].
•
Street waste picking: Secondary raw materials are recovered from
mixed waste dumped on the street or from municipal waste bins
prior to collection.
•
Municipal waste collection crew: Secondary raw materials are col-
lected from MSW transport vehicles to disposal sites. This practice is
common, for example in Mexico, Colombia, Thailand and the Philip-
pines.
•
Waste picking from dumps: Garbage collectors/collectors sort
garbage before putting the lid on, as shown in Fig 2. This usually
involves communities living in huts, built from waste construction
materials, on or near a landfill. Landfill clean-up takes place in eco-
nomically developing cities worldwide [17].
These basic categories have also changed. For example, if waste is
transported through transfer stations or other intermediate points for
disposal, then this provides additional opportunities for waste collec-
tion. In some countries, the informal sector still provides direct garbage
collection services in areas where there is no formal municipal system.
Even here, the main economic motivation is sometimes not the fees that
can be charged for providing services, but the income that can be ob-
tained through sorting and recycling the collected waste.
Numerous studies have examined the role of the informal sector in
the recycling of waste and therefore the recovery of recovered waste. In
Nigeria, research on informal waste recycling appears to focus on the
2
Energy Nexus 1 (2021) 100003
socio-economic, spatial, public health and environmental aspects of re-
cycling [20] with little attention paid to other related stakeholders such
as scrap metal dealers. There is currently no work done in Abuja that
focuses on the activities and challenges of stakeholders in the informal
recycling sector. This article provides background information on the
informal waste sector in developing countries like Abuja, Nigeria, and
the challenges facing the informal sector.
Methods
Simple random sampling and stratified sampling are two sampling
techniques that are applied. During the study, government officials,
waste contractors, residents, garbage collectors and scrap metal work-
ers were interviewed for the reliability of the data. Therefore, the pop-
ulation of informal sector actors in Abuja is not known; a convenience
sampling method was applied to the survey. To obtain quantitative in-
formation, investigators managed one thousand five hundred (1500)
scavengers and scrap dealers at various locations in Abuja.
By the way, one thousand five hundred (1500) stakeholders who
expressed their willingness to participate in the study questionnaire
received a questionnaire composed of three hundred (300) household
waste collectors, three hundred (300) street garbage collectors, two hun-
dred (200) mobile buyers of waste, four hundred and twenty (420) col-
lectors of waste in landfills and two hundred and eighty (280) scrap deal-
ers. They are seen at different locations, five hundred (500) waste stake-
holders at the existing main storage site in Goza, two hundred and forty
(240) waste stakeholders at Dei Panteka market, one hundred and thirty
(130) parties waste stakeholders in the Gwarimpa Panteka market, one
hundred and thirty (130) waste stakeholders in the Gwagwa Panteka
market, one hundred and fifty (150) waste stakeholders in the Kubwa
Panteka market, one hundred and ten (110) stakeholders waste in the
Kabusa Panteka market, one hundred and ten (110)) waste stakehold-
ers in the Lokogoma Panteka market and one hundred and thirty (130)
waste-related parties in the Dawaki Panteka market. The interviewer
administered the questionnaire in Hausa and recorded stakeholder re-
sponses in English. Participants were not encouraged or paid for their
participation in the study.
The organized questionnaire included basic information on age,
marital status, sex, level of education, hours of daily activity, amount
of recyclable materials, place of residence, amount of silver. Average
earnings per day, type of material recovered, estimated daily earnings
and challenges encountered during this job. The study was conducted
from October to December 2019. Records of interviewed informal sec-
tor stakeholders are kept to ensure that none of them is interviewed
twice. The main information mentioned in the questionnaire is listed in
Table 1.
Results and discussion
The informal sector in SWM in Abuja
Solid waste management in the country of metropolitan cities of
Nigeria is the responsibility of the state and the local government sec-
tor. The average production rate of DSM in Abuja was 0.634 kg / capita
/ day with an average bulk density of 240 kg / m3 [21,22,23,24,25].
This municipal waste collection team is operated by the official sector
in Abuja. Residents generally have to pay a fee for this service [2]. In
addition, it has been reported that informal solid waste collection ac-
tivities coexist with government agencies in several large countries [2].
Scavengers have registered an association called the Bola Association
in Abuja with an office in the Jabi area of Abuja. Most of the people
who run the association are illiterate and have no formal education.
The informal sector receives no support from the government or the or-
ganized sector. In developing countries, the roles of the informal and
formal sectors can be complementary. There is no formal recycling pro-
gram in Nigeria [26] like most developing countries like Pakistan [27],
T.C. Ogwueleka and N. B P
Fig. 3. Pictures of dumpsite and scrap market in Abuja.
even in large cities like Karachi and Lahore [28]. In Abuja, Nigeria, as in
developing countries, resource recovery and recycling is mainly carried
out by the informal sector. Informal recycling activities in Abuja in-
clude waste pickers, mobile buyers, landfill pickers, garbage collectors
and scrap dealers who are involved in the collection and sorting and
recycling of resources. The main economic driver is not the costs but
the income from the sale of recovered materials [29]. In Nigerian cities,
the main group involved in the recovery and recycling of solid waste
resources are scavengers. In Kano, Nigeria, sorting and recycling is also
carried out by the informal sector, where around 25,000 scavengers col-
lect an average of 15 kg / capita / day and sell them in ready-to-wear
markets for many years. In Maiduguri, Nigeria, sorting and recycling is
done informally by garbage collectors, who sell recovered materials to
wholesalers for reuse or recycling. [30] In the markets in Abuja, garbage
collectors collect a waste fee and collect recyclable materials before dis-
posing of the waste [2]. Table 1 Sociological characteristics of the infor-
mal recycling sector.
Despite this, their role in resource recovery and recycling has not
yet been recognized by the government. In Abuja, the informal sector
recycles; with sorting done from their carts, by household waste col-
lectors and by scavengers in street bins and landfills. The informal sec-
tor plays an important role in solid waste management in India [31].
3
Energy Nexus 1 (2021) 100003
Fig. 2. Waste pickers sorting through waste at an open dump [18].
Only a limited amount of plastic, canned goods, bottles and newspa-
pers are kept indoors and sold to traveling buyers. [32] Currently, there
are MSW classification centres operating in Nigeria but owned by in-
dividuals. MSW is collected mainly in domestic and municipal waste
bins and sent directly to the disposal sites. Materials recovered by scav-
engers include high-value plastics (PET, etc.), scrap metal (ferrous and
iron), aluminium cans, glass, and textiles. They use basic tools such as
drums, cardboard boxes, baskets, poly bags, hand rakes, buckets and
shovels to sort waste and transport household waste to nearby public
bins by wheelbarrows. kit or stroller they own. Abuja’s informal recy-
cling system includes household garbage collectors, mobile waste buy-
ers, street collectors, dumps and scrap yards. In Abuja, garbage collec-
tors are called "mai bola" in Hausa, which is directly translated into En-
glish as "owners of garbage". In Pakistan, these people have names like
Korreywalas (collectors or scavengers) and Pheriwalas (street vendors).
The activities of waste pickers have contributed to waste manage-
ment in most developing countries and the role of the informal sec-
tor in waste collection is important [26]. The recovered materials are
sold to scrap dealers (intermediaries) at the disposal site (Goza) or in
scrap markets (commonly referred to as “Panteka” in northern Nige-
ria). Fig. 1 shows the storage areas and primary treatment facilities for
recovered materials. Scrap metal dealers sometimes subject the recov-
T.C. Ogwueleka and N. B P Energy Nexus 1 (2021) 100003

Table 1
Socio-demographic characteristics of the informal recycling sector.

Attribute Household Waste Collector Street Pickers Dumpsite Pickers Itinerant Waste Buyers Overall % Scrap Dealers %

Age 110 160 160 0 430 35.3 0 0

≤20
21–40 190 140 230 120 680 55.7 130 46.7
41–60 0 0 30 80 110 9 110 39.3
>60 0 0 0 0 0 0 40 14.3
Gender
Male 300 300 300 200 1130 92.6 220 78.6
Female 0 0 90 0 90 7.4 60 21.4
Marital 120 110 150 60 440 36 60 21.4
Single
Married 160 180 240 110 690 56.6 150 53.6
Divorced 0 10 10 20 40 3.3 30 10.7
Widowed 20 0 20 10 50 4.1 40 14.3
Education 70 110 90 30 300 24.6 60 21.4
None
Primary 190 120 230 110 650 53.3 70 25
Secondary 40 70 10 60 270 22.1 140 50
College 0 0 0 0 0 0 10 3.6
Experience on the Job 100 80 90 30 300 24.6 20 7.1
≤2
3–5 40 110 50 40 240 19.7 40 14.3
6–9 100 80 220 110 510 41.8 150 53.6
>9 60 30 60 20 170 13.9 70 25
Citizenship 60 70 90 30 250 20.5 40 14.3
Local
Migrant 150 180 210 140 680 55.7 220 78.6
Refugee 90 50 120 290 290 23.8 20 7.1

ered materials to some form of physical treatment before selling them
to companies. Physical handling can include burning wire to recover
copper wire, washing dirty plastic, shredding and separating materials,
dismantling used metal parts and lead-acid batteries, to remove lead
metals. Scrap metal dealers sell transformed or recovered materials to
end consumers (welders, craftsmen, etc.) in larger quantities on a daily
basis. The scrap dealers are contacted by telephone; most of them have
close contacts with buyers. They have the ability to negotiate the price
of recyclable materials.
Scrap Metal Trader is a business that adds value to salvaged items
by turning them into reusable items and then selling them to businesses,
exporters, industries. Different components of the waste stream have dif-
ferent prices in Abuja, scrap metal is sold at 80 N (0.22 USD) / kg and
plastic at 50 N (0.14 USD) / kg. Aluminum scrap is sold for N100 ($
0.28) / kg. The prices are reseller prices, not scavengers. The waste in
Abuja is mixed waste; it contains dangerous chemicals (eg heavy met-
als, brominated flame retardants), needles, broken glass, textiles, animal
and human droppings. Scavengers work without protective clothing or
equipment such as gloves, boots, helmets and masks. They work in a
dirty and unsanitary environment. They face health and occupational
risks in the performance of their duties, including the collection, sort-
ing, extraction and transport, treatment, recycling and disposal of waste.
Landfill scavengers can be exposed to emissions (EPA, 2005), causing
respiratory and skin problems [21].
Categorization of informal collectors
The classification is based on observations and interviews conducted
at disposal sites and scrap metal trading centres in Abuja. Stakeholders
in the informal sector in Abuja can be divided into 5 groups, includ-
ing household scavengers, street scavengers, mobile waste buyers, scav-
engers and scrap metal collectors (middlemen). Wilson et al. [22] sup-
port the requirement of cities to have formal and informal waste col-
lection and disposal systems. This method is obtained in the situation
where there is no transfer station. The transfer station will create an
opportunity for waste collection. In some country’s differences may ap-
pear. Scavengers form the bulk of the pyramidal workforce [31]. In the
informal sector waste recycling hierarchy, with each higher waste pur-
chase, prices and profits increase. Waste pickers are operated by scrap
metal dealers (intermediaries) as they do not have access to recycling
companies due to their level of education. Garbage collectors receive
20% of the price recycling companies pay for garbage. The value of raw
materials increases throughout the chain. The hierarchy of the recycling
trade includes scavengers at the bottom, scrap dealers and middlemen,
recyclers and manufacturing industries.
In Abuja, household waste collectors provide waste collection ser-
vices using wheelbarrows, carts and tricycles. There is no flat fee for
garbage collection, they charge from N20 ($ 0.06) to N50 ($ 0.14) per
bin. Similar to what Oberlin [33] found in Dar-salaam, Tanzania and
Kampala, Uganda. Sorting reduces the total volume of waste by about
40% by separating recyclable materials and reselling them. Sometimes
garbage collectors collect household garbage after sorting and sort-
ing; The collected non-recyclable waste is disposed of in unauthorized
places, which leads to the development of illegal landfills. In Abuja,
some scavengers have been banned from their property by some estates
due to the high altitude of the scavengers who have scattered their waste
around the property. Similarly, in Kampala, Uganda, garbage collectors
dump their waste at illegal landfills about 50 to 300 m away from cus-
tomers’ homes. [34]
Abuja has many street collectors known as “mai bola”, who collect
recyclables from communal bins before collecting them. Collectors sep-
arate and sort recyclables into different components and sell each com-
ponent to different dealers. Garbage collectors roam the streets of Abuja
and work an average of 10 to 12 h a day.
Goza landfill scavengers store secondary raw materials, then sell
them in the scrap markets on the edge of the landfill or bring them
to the scarcity market (Panteka) or scrap metal dealers. The income of
scavengers depends on the development of the market. In Goza, women,
children and Mai Bola participate in the sorting and collection of waste.
Collectors dismantled the waste machine, sorted plastic, packaging and
compacted paper.
Mobile Waste Buyers (IWB) buy recyclable materials such as bottles,
glass, plastic items, textiles, used cement bags, used electronic waste and
furniture, etc. housekeepers, workers and servants. Mobile scrap metal
buyers sell recyclable materials to scrap dealers. Itinerant shoppers often
ring bells or knock-on glass bottles to attract attention

4
T.C. Ogwueleka and N. B P
Scrap metal dealers are engaged in the conversion and processing
of recovered materials into secondary raw materials and sell these ma-
terials to recycling companies. A scrap dealer doesn’t just deal in one
component of the waste stream. Most scavengers have a specific col-
lection area, some only deal with plastic. In Abuja, scrap dealers em-
ploy loyal scavengers; waste collectors and return recyclable materials
to scrap dealers. Scavengers are gathered in groups of 5 to 15 members.
The cost of raw materials is not fixed; Scrap metal dealers weigh all re-
cyclables with a scale. Scrap Metallers go to the Goza Junkyard to buy
things that can be reused, salvaged, and recycled, and sometimes they
get the materials at the Salvage Yard or the Scrap Yard (Panteka). Scrap
metal dealers handle the largest volumes of reusable materials as they
use trucks or motorized cabs to move their materials.
Socio-demographic characteristics of informal recycling sector
stakeholders
According to Asim et al. [16], the socioeconomic and socio-
demographic characteristics of scavengers vary from place to place.
Socio-economic parameters considered to identify socio-economic
groups in the study area are age, sex, marital status, education level,
income, duration, nationality. president.
Age distribution of informal stakeholders
Some of the scavengers are quite young. About 35.3% of scavengers
are under 20 years old. About 55.7% of scavengers are between 21 and
40 years old. For cruise buyers, the 21 to 60 age group dominates. About
46.4% of scrap dealers are between 21 and 40 years old. 39.3% of scrap
traders are from 41 to 60 years old. Results of Lagos and Ilorin, Nigeria,
Botswana support Abuja’s conclusion. In Ilorin, Nigeria, all scavengers
are under the age of 30. Approximately 86.7% of the litter pickers at the
Lagos landfill are between 19 and 30 years old [12]. In Botswana, 64%
of scavengers are said to be between 16 and 24 years old. The results
show that collecting work is for young people.
Gender distribution of informal stakeholders
Male scavengers make up about 92.6% of the population and female
scavengers make up 7.4% in Abuja. Male scrap dealers make up about
78.6% of scrap dealers in Abuja. The girls are seen in the search for the
landfill. Similarly, in Aba, Nigeria, analysis of waste recycling found that
95.8% and 98.55% of waste pickers and traders, respectively, were men.
Oteng-Ababio observed that males accounted for 86% of the scavengers
found in Agbogbloshie, Accra. Afon [20] reported that 80% and 88.6%
of scavengers were male, respectively.
Marital status
Most of the scavengers are married, and needed to earn income to
support their families. Approximately 21.4% of the interviewed waste
pickers are single and about 53.6% 9% of waste pickers are married,
14.3% are widowed and the least participating group is divorced at
10.7%. About 53.6% of the scrap dealers are married and 21.4% are
single. Similarly, in Aba, 51.9% of scavengers are single while 42.9%
are married and also 45% of waste dealers are married while 48.7% are
single.
Education level and skills
About 53.3% of the scavengers attended primary school, 24.6%
never had formal education and 22.1% had secondary school. The scav-
engers have only acquired basic education. The result of the educa-
tional status of the scavengers showed people with low educational
background, poor and marginalized are attracted to scavenging (Nyathi
et al., 2018). About 50% of scrap dealers have secondary training while
5
Energy Nexus 1 (2021) 100003
25% of the scrap dealers attended primary school. About 21.4% of scrap
dealers had no formal education while 3.6% have completed a college
education. Similarly, Afon [20] reported that in Lagos, 64% of scav-
engers had no formal education and 28% had up to primary school. In
Kampala, Ugandan, 19% had no formal education and 43% completed
primary school while 38% had secondary school education.
Experience on the job
About 41.8% of the waste pickers have 6 to 8 years’ experience,
24.6% have less than 2 years’ experience. About 53.6% of the scrap
dealers have between 6 and 8 years’ experience and 25% have more
than 9 years’ experience in Abuja. In Kampala, Uganda, all scavengers
have been in waste recycling business between 1 and 5 years.
Citizenship
About 55.7% of the waste pickers in Abuja are migrants from neigh-
bouring states. About 23.85 are refugees from neighbouring countries
such as Chad and the Niger Republic. These refugees are engaged as
household waste collectors, street pickers, itinerant buyers, and dump-
site pickers. About 78.6% of the scrap dealers are migrants while about
14.35% are indigenes of Abuja. Informal recycling provides job and
livelihood to mostly recent migrants.
Number of informal stakeholders
Based on the survey and interview granted, the estimated number
of scavengers and scrap dealers could be about six thousand, eight hun-
dred (6800) and nine hundred (900) respectively in Abuja. This figure is
however difficult to corroborate. The obtained data is mainly based on
‘guess-estimates’ by the stakeholders. Annepu [21] reported that waste
collection by the informal sector is at 15–20 per cent and about 1.7 mil-
lion workers are involved in informal waste management in India. Of the
estimated over 15 million people involved in informal waste recycling,
mostly are from developing countries [15]. It is estimated that about
3.3–5.6 million people are involved in waste collection and recycling
in China. In Shanghai, about 200,000 people are involved in informal
recycling and accounting for 17–38% of municipal recycling activities
[35]
Working hours of informal stakeholders
On average, scavengers work between 10 and 12 h per day in Abuja
looking for recyclables’ materials. The scrap dealers work 10 h per day
because the scrap markets open by 7 am and close by 5 pm. Similarly,
in Egypt women spend up to 10–12 h per day sorting out refuse [36].
Working hours of scavengers are 10 to 12 h per day for those living close
to the landfill sites.
Materials recovered by informal stakeholders
The recovered materials including scrap metals, plastics (Polyethy-
lene Terephthalate (PET), Poly Vinyl Chloride (PVC) and Polystyrene
(PS), bottles, paper and cardboard, metal scrap (aluminium, steel, tin),
glass, PET bottles are reused directly as secondary raw materials or pro-
cessed into intermediate products for sale to recycling companies in
Onitsha, Kaduna or Kano, Nigeria or use locally. The components of
recyclables vary between regions and countries. In many developing
countries, industries depend on secondary raw materials. In Nigeria,
virgin plastics are sold at N600, 000 ($1666.67) per ton but recycled
plastics can be obtained at N200,000 ($555.55) per ton. Recycling of
plastic in Abuja is well developed. Presently, there are about fifty (50)
PET crushers recycling machines in Abuja. Metal scraps are sold to steel
companies in Benin, Lagos, Keffi and Kano. Paper and cardboard are not
recycled in Abuja but are collected in bale and export to other countries.
T.C. Ogwueleka and N. B P
Table 2
Scrap materials recovered and recycled in 2019 (kg).
Types of Materials Scavengers (kg/c/d) Uses
Plastics 7.17 Plastics (Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET), Poly Vinyl Chloride (PVC), bottles, other rigid plastic.
Paper and cardboard 6.43 Corrugated cardboard, newspaper/print, magazines/catalogues/other books, wax-coated containers, office paper/other paper
Metal (Ferrous) 2.66 Food cans, ferrous scrap metals, metal rods
Metal (Non-Ferrous) 1.85 Aluminium cans, aluminium tin/foil, Cooking utensils, roofing sheets
Glass bottle 1.55 Glass bottles/jars
Total 19.66
Table 3
The average daily income of scavengers and scrap dealers compared to min-
imum wage.
Scavengers group Range daily income ($USD)
House collectors 2.8–4.2
Street waste pickers 2.8–4.2
Dumpsite pickers 2.8–4.2
Itinerant waste buyers 2.8–5.6
Scrap dealers 27.77–41.67
Minimum wage 2.8
Glass is collected and send to a glass factory at Ogun State, Nigeria. The
prices of virgin materials, the existence of the market, level of accessi-
bility, demand for secondary materials, quality and type, income and
the convenience of transporting the materials affect the extent to which
materials are recycled.
Recyclable quantities handled by informal stakeholders
Approximately one thousand five hundred (1500) garbage collec-
tors and scrap dealers were interviewed as part of the investigation.
About 16.2% of total waste is recycled in the informal sector, as 83.8%
of total waste is organic. There is no organic market in Abuja. The av-
erage quantity of recyclable materials collected by a garbage collector
per day is 19.66 kg / c / day (see Table 2). The estimated amount of
recyclable waste produced in Abuja in one day is 19.66 kg / c / day
X 6800 scavengers = 133 688 kg per day (133 688 tonnes per day).
The average amount of recycled material received by the scrap trader is
103 kg/c/day. Scrap dealers buy from different scavengers. The amount
of waste collected by scavengers depends on several factors: proxim-
ity to the landfill and the location of the material; age and sex of the
picker; material type; collection systems and methods and geographical
conditions. The amount of material that can be recycled from the waste
stream is substantial. In India, about 6.5–8.5 tons of plastic waste per
day is collected and about 50–80% of the collected plastic waste is re-
cycled by the informal sector [37]. Recycling rates ranging from 17% to
38% of the waste generated are found in Chinese municipalities [35].
Table 2 shows the amount of materials recycled and recovered in Abuja.
Revenues and net incomes of informal stakeholders
According to the garbage collectors interviewed in Abuja, garbage
collectors and collectors earn between N1000 ($ 2.8) and N1500 ($ 4.2)
per day, itinerant merchants earn N1500 (2.8 $) to N2000 ($ 5.6) per
day and scrap dealers earn between N10,000 ($ 27.77)) to N15,000
($ 41.67) per day in Abuja (Table 3). The current national minimum
wage in Nigeria is 1000 ($ 2.8) per day. Scavengers earn more than
the minimum wage. Scrap Metal Dealers earn more than Scavengers be-
cause they buy from Scavengers and sell for a higher price and a greater
amount of reuse than Scavengers. Scavengers earn an average of 5.00
GH ¢ to 5.00 GH ¢ per day in Accra, Ghana (Rockson et al., 2013). In
one of the Indian cities in 2008, a study showed that garbage collectors
and scrap dealers earn about US$24 and US$165 per month [38,39,40].
6
Energy Nexus 1 (2021) 100003
Challenges faced by waste pickers
The challenges faced by the scavengers in Abuja, Nigeria are not
peculiar to them alone, they are found among scavengers in developing
countries.
1 Scavengers face health and environmental hazards in the cause of
their works. Scavengers in Abuja are exposed to hazardous and un-
healthy work environments. In support of the above, scavengers
work without protective clothing or equipment [41].
2 Scavengers are subjected to discrimination and harassment from
government officials. Generally, scavengers are subjected to
marginalization [11].
3 Scavengers in Abuja suffer from low self-stream and stigmatization.
In Tunisia, Palestine and Morocco, scavengers are abandoned and
rejected [12].
4 The prices of scrap materials are unstable and controlled by mid-
dlemen which affect the monthly income of scavengers. The values
(price) of the recyclable material depend on the development of the
recycling market. They are badly exploited by scrap dealers.
5 Scavengers lack good storage facilities for recovered materials.
6 Approximately 63.6% of waste in Abuja is organic waste [25], some-
times results in low recovered materials at the landfill site.
7 Lack of access to funds to affects the business of informal sector.
8 The informal sector is unregulated, unrecognized, and therefore con-
sidered illegal.
Towards a pro-waste picker agenda for Nigeria
Special to integrate these informal actors into a wider area in or-
der to realize, nurture and capture the full contribution and potential
of the informal sector of urban solid waste management and recycling
in Nigeria. It is important to focus and emphasize. With urban waste
management program strategy [42,43].
Based on the empirical data provided for this study; it is clear that
the scavengers in Abuja, Nigeria and the area in which they operate have
demonstrated their ability to act as effective partners of the local city
and other stakeholders in the waste management and recycling sector.
They have demonstrated the ability to collect and recycle significant
amounts of solid waste. Therefore, it is important to identify appropriate
policy entry points to support the businesses of informal waste collectors
and help them secure livelihoods and contributions into the sustainable
development of Abuja, Nigeria.
For this to happen, the urban governance system needs to be im-
proved. For example, improving governance will lead to the creation of
confidence and trust among scavengers, government, non-governmental
organizations (NGOs) and the private sector. The development could en-
able and help facilitate the creation of a forum through which common
concerns about solid waste and recycling can be expressed and enhanced
cooperation among the parties. different. Through this increased inter-
action to, it is likely that cooperatives, associations, small businesses
and networks can be established and may be the main avenue by which
NGO activities Form can be supported and advocated to integrate into
official waste management systems.
Secondly, better governance, through the provision of solid waste
infrastructure, equipment and protective clothing, can trigger cultural
T.C. Ogwueleka and N. B P
transformation, that is, involves more activities that accept scavengers.
For example, some people think that many informal scavengers often
come from very poor backgrounds and have very low social status in
the community. Providing waste management infrastructure and related
factors may lead to the integration of scavenger activities into broader
urban policies.
Finally, it is important to consider the involvement of non-
governmental organizations (NGOs) and community organizations. In
most cases, local government recognizes community organizations, but
this recognition is usually limited to political and policy statements.
Conclusion
This study examines the activities of the informal recycling sector
in Abuja, Nigeria. This is not an official recycling program in Abuja.
Waste pickers sort waste and identify recyclable materials. Question-
naires were administered to one thousand five hundred (1500) garbage
collectors and scrap dealers (stakeholders) to obtain socio-economic and
demographic characteristics. The questionnaires included information
such as age distribution, sex, marital status, education level, working
hours, number of stakeholders, citizenship, work experience, materi-
als recovered, the quantity of recyclable materials and the revenues.
Most scavengers are between 21 and 40 years old and work 10 to 12 h.
Scavengers are mostly men. Collectors sort the 19.76 kg / c / day of
recyclable waste. A Scavenger earns between 1000 N (2.8 USD) and
1500 N1500 (4.2 USD) per day. Stakeholder activities contribute to the
recovery and separation of secondary recyclable materials. The study
highlights the challenges facing scavengers. The informal economy has
the potential to contribute to the development of any country by cre-
ating jobs, reducing poverty and conserving natural resources and the
by-products of industries.
Declaration of Competing Interest
There is no conflict interest between authors
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