Unilever Nigeria has announced a foundry grant of N18.1 million ($50,000), from Unilever global to Wecyclers, a waste collection and management company.
The grant serves as a financial boost for the waste recycling social enterprise.
The grant-cum-partnership will allow Unilever trade carbon footprints from its operations by helping to prevent the emission of C02 caused by improper disposal of its post-consumer waste products.
Announcing the partnership, Corporate Affairs Director, Unilever Nigeria Plc, Mr. George Soromidayo, said the partnership is Unilever’s contribution to creating a cleaner environment and delivering its mission of supporting young entrepreneurs.
He said: “Creating a cleaner environment forms part of our Unilever Sustainable Living Plan (USLP) and we believe that this partnership will help us achieve our USLP objectives particularly as it relates to post consumer waste recycling and management.”
Also speaking, Bukunmi Akinseye, Sustainability Partnerships Manager, Africa, Unilever Plc, said recycling is important to sustaining cleaner environments and protecting natural habitats.
She said, “People are buying more products and that amounts to more wastes, there is need for a constant recycling system to reduce the pollution caused by waste and preserve natural resources.”
Also speaking, the CEO Wecyclers Nig. Ltd, Mrs Bilikis Adebiyi-Abiola, said the grant will be used to further increase Wecyclers waste collection capacity and significantly increase the value it captures from waste.
Unilever will also be supporting the partnership with the provision of its wide range of leading products where a variety of the products will be given out to consumers who turn in their waste to Wecyclers.