RecyclePoints and the Mastercard Foundation are announcing today a partnership to enable more than 8,000 women and young people to access work opportunities aimed at tackling the challenges associated with waste pollution and unemployment in underserved communities in Nigeria.
The intervention aims to create green work for 410 youth, build resilience of 40 women-led MSMEs, and strengthen RecyclePoints’ capacity to aggregate recycling waste that will benefit thousands of disadvantaged persons and communities who have been the hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Through this intervention, 40 drop-off recycling bins will be procured and installed across Lagos, Port- Harcourt, and Owerri to allow for the safe collection of recyclable items.
Through projectDORI, women can deploy proprietary waste and recycling assets such as the DORI Bin, to communities to collect waste, and in return they will earn an income.
One of the program participants, Adeola Junaid, expressed her appreciation to the organizers of the initiative. “I sincerely thank RecyclePoints and Mastercard Foundation for providing this recycle bin program, as many people are bringing cans and plastics which I can redeem and use to collect money,” she said.
Speaking about the partnership, the Nigeria Country Head at the Mastercard Foundation, Chidinma Lawanson, said that the partnership is one of the numerous ways in which the Foundation intends to reduce the disruptions on society caused by COVID-19.“We will continue to focus on enabling young people and women to secure sustainable income-generating opportunities so they can support themselves, their families, and communities,” she added.
The Co-Founder/CEO of RecyclePoints, Mazi Ukonu, noted that it has become imperative to reduce the health risks associated with uncollected waste, particularly in low-income communities. “With Project DORI, we are intentionally targeting low-income communities as they are the most vulnerable to the environmental and health hazards of uncollected waste.”
Through project DORI, the Mastercard Foundation is demonstrating its commitment to ensuring more young Africans and womenaccess work opportunities, thereby contributing to the reduction of the unemployment rate. Project DORI is also proudly supported by the Ministry of Environment Lagos, Lagos State Waste Management Authority (LAWMA), Imo State Waste Management (ISWAMA) Agency, and several other organizations.
