The Profitbags Initiative has urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to establish a National Waste Management Commission (NAWAMAC), warning that the absence of a coherent federal policy direction has cost the Nigerian economy over one trillion dollars in the last three decades.
The director of the initiative, Engr. Felix Akpoyibo, made the call during an exclusive interview with Abuja Network News. He also called on the National Assembly to champion profitable legislation, insisting that the current policy vacuum is allowing a valuable national resource to go to waste. He argued that municipal waste, which has become a global challenge affecting major cities including those in Nigeria, should be recognised as a significant source of income and electricity. Engr. Akpoyibo stressed that most states lack the legal framework to tackle waste management challenges or harness its opportunities, and urged the president to prioritise profitable projects before the end of his tenure in 2031.
Across the globe, nations are already transforming garbage into gold. Sweden has become a world leader by converting over three million tons of imported waste into energy and district heating, with Swedish companies earning more than one billion kronor annually from incinerating foreign trash. The country’s waste-to-energy sector also generates thousands of jobs, with one analysis finding that maximising the nation’s potential in this area could create 28,000 direct and indirect positions and contribute 24 billion SEK to GDP.
In the United States, a new facility at Manatee County’s landfill is expected to generate up to 1.7 million dollars per year in revenue while powering thousands of homes. A 400-million-dollar waste-to-energy plant proposed in Lagos State’s Epe district is projected to deliver a 12 percent internal rate of return over 20 years, supply clean electricity to up to two million residents, and drastically reduce the volume of waste sent to landfills. Experts have estimated that Lagos alone could generate 2.5 billion dollars annually from its waste if systems are scaled to recover up to 70 percent of recyclable materials.
Across Africa, Rwanda is advancing an 80-million-dollar waste-to-energy plant that will process 400 tonnes of waste daily, generate 15 megawatts for the national grid, and create significant local employment. In South Africa, the Ekurhuleni municipality has launched a 4.5-billion-rand waste-to-energy project expected to create 400 jobs and provide skills development for local communities.
Beyond job creation, waste-to-energy technology delivers profound environmental benefits. A typical waste-to-energy plant can reduce municipal solid waste volume by 90 percent and cut greenhouse gas emissions by 93 percent compared to coal-fired power generation. These facilities reduce landfill pressure, lower methane emissions, and provide a renewable source of baseload electricity that strengthens energy security.
With Nigeria generating 32 million tonnes of solid waste annually, 80 percent of which is mismanaged, the country is losing an estimated 2.5 billion dollars each year in unrecovered recyclable materials alone. Engr. Felix Akpoyibo and the Profitbags Initiative insist that a centralised National Waste Management Commission would provide the legal and policy framework needed to attract investment, create thousands of jobs, protect the environment, and finally turn the nation’s mounting trash into a reliable source of revenue and electric power.
Abuja Network News
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