Lagos engages students in plastic waste management

The Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency and the EPPlus Sustainability Network have engaged students in the state in plastic waste management.

The parties hosted an environmental innovation competition for secondary schools across Lagos State under the banner Project SOLVE 2.0: Solutions for a Viable Environment, with the theme “Towards a Future with Zero Plastic Pollution.”

The event, held at the LASEPA headquarters in Alausa, Ikeja, on Thursday, brought together public and private secondary schools whose students presented creative, actionable proposals to tackle plastic pollution in their schools and local communities.

The 10 finalist schools and their project names included Ojodu Junior High School — Success Team, Grandmates School — The Collectables: From Litres to Leadership, Keke Senior High School — Trash to Treasure, Bolade Senior Grammar School — Transparent Land, Army Cantonment Junior School — Green Minds, Birch Freeman Senior High School — EcoVators, Ikeja Senior Grammar School — EcoCycle, Oke Ira Senior Grammar School — Young Environmentalist (Environment Bee), and Oshodi Comprehensive Junior High School — Nature Lovers.

At the event, Oke Ira Senior Grammar School emerged first, winning the ₦500,000 prize. Grandmates School came second, and Oshodi Comprehensive Junior High School took third place.

The General Manager of LASEPA, Tunde Ajayi, told the audience that the competition is part of the agency’s commitment to engage youth in environmental management.

“This competition tests and assesses students’ understanding of environmental issues in their curriculum and motivates them to innovate.

The essence is to highlight partnerships with organisations like S-Plus and stimulate young people to be deliberate about eradicating plastic waste and cleaning our drains and waterways,” he said.

He emphasised that LASEPA was not only doing awareness but also enforcing and implementing: clearing drainages, building more channels, reducing emissions, and cutting pollution.

The Deputy Team Lead of EPPlus, Mosadoluwa Otenaike, provided context on the genesis and goals of Project SOLVE, saying, “We invited secondary schools to submit proposals addressing specific environmental issues in their schools or communities. We received hundreds of entries and narrowed them down to the final 10 showcased today.”

She affirmed that the initiative was a multi-year project, and not a one-off event. The winning school would be mentored and supported to see their project through implementation. She also noted that while most entries were from public schools, a few private schools participated, hoping that more would join in future editions.

The Director, Environmental Assessment in the Lagos State Ministry of Environment & Water Resources, Dr Sojinu Olasunkanmi, representing the Permanent Secretary, Dr. Gaji Omobolaji Tajudeen, applauded the collaboration between non-profit and government.

“What we are seeing here today is the result of an effective collaboration between a nonprofit organisation and government, trying to bring innovative solutions to plastic waste using school students as agents of change,” he said.