By Onome Amuge
Dangote Cement has launched a circular economy programme tagged “DangCircular”, aimed at developing recycling and reuse of scarce resources in society to reduce landfilling and create wealth as a contribution to environmental sustainability.
The initiative was introduced during the 2022 Dangote Sustainability Week, involving students of Nigerian higher institutions. The company partnered with the Yaba College of Technology, Lagos, and UNESCO International Centre for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (UNESCO-UNEVOC) in a competition tagged ‘Yaba Green Challenge’.
The event began with a tour of the Yabatech art museum, a courtesy visit to the college rector, and a donation of waste segregation bins to the management of the school.
Obafemi Omokungbe, the rector of Yabatech, described the partnership between the college and Dangote as a very strategic and exciting one. He added that talks are ongoing to obtain patent rights for the innovations showcased at the event to share with the private sector for adoption.
The finale of the Yaba Green Challenge competition had over 300 staff and students in attendance. It was also attended by Dangote employees, volunteers and executives who oversaw the presentation of 10 sustainability innovations the students created from waste after a screening of over 30 entries.
Among the panel of judges were the academic staff of Yabatech, officials of UNESCO-UNEVOC, as well as Duraisamy Anandam, Dangote Cement technical director, and Johnson Olaniyi, general manager for regional sales.
The recycling projects undertaken by the participating students included mixed media painting from sawdust, fungal growth medium from industrial wheat waste, and medicinal mushrooms from sawdust and water hyacinth.
Others were mycelia blocks from spent mushroom substrate, wearable art from aluminum beverage can pull-tab wastes, and sculpture from metal scraps. The students also made a paving interlocking block project with plastics, hollow sandcrete blocks from plastics, and a mixed media painting made with waste plastics and paper, as well as animal feed produced from water hyacinth.
Comfort Ajide of the Fashion Design Department emerged winner of the grand prize of the competition as her wearable art made from an aluminum beverage can pull-tab waste was adjudged the best project.
She thereafter expressed her gratitude to Dangote Cement and pledged to continue finding ways to integrate waste recycling in her designs.
Igazeuma Okoroba, general manager, Sustainability, who led the Dangote delegation expressed satisfaction at the exhibition. She remarked that the goal of DangCircular was to spur Nigeria’s transition to a circular economy and support wealth creation through waste. Okoroba also encouraged the institution to carry out cutting-edge research for the economic growth of society.
