The challenge
With approximately 58 million tonnes of waste generated annually in Nigeria, of which about 90% are dumped, resulting in serious environmental impacts, the scene was set for Geocycle Nigeria to make a key difference to how waste is treated.
The types of waste concerned can be categorized in four ways:
- Industrial waste, from agricultural, extractive, manufacturing & services industries.
- Municipal solid waste: Mainly domestic wastes and wastes from small and medium businesses. About 36 million tonnes of municipal solid waste are produced yearly in Nigeria, including food waste, textiles and plastics.
- Tires: an estimated 90% of tires are imported used from abroad and therefore are disposed of regularly, requiring a better solution than landfilling.
- Biomass: Agriculture is the dominant sector in rural areas (70% of the workforce), generating a massive quantity of residue, impacting the ecosystem.
Geocycle’s solution
Geocycle is the global waste management brand of LafargeHolcim with operations in more than 50 countries. Managing waste through co-processing technology enables the recovery of energy and recycling of materials. It contributes to the overall reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and the conservation of natural resources.
The launch of Geocycle in Nigeria illustrates Lafarge Africa’s commitment to building a circular economy that reaches beyond the building materials sector. Geocycle is Nigeria's first full-fledged professional waste management service provider, handling wastes from different sectors in a safe, sustainable and environmentally friendly manner. So far, Lafarge Africa has co-processing activities at the Sagamu and Ewekoro plants, with plans for a new line in Sagamu to serve the Lagos and Central markets.
In less than a year, Geocycle Nigeria has already obtained a wide base of clients in all of the sectors mentioned above, including Nestlé; a global giant in Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) industrial sector. These clients have wide-ranging waste management needs, and our teams can offer them a unique solution: co-processing! Geocycle Nigeria are also able to contribute to larger initiatives, such as helping to reduce PET bottle waste in the absence of recycling operations in the country. These bottles are saved from landfilling and are instead sent for pre- and co-processing at Ewekoro.