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VENO NEWS: Coca-Cola Partners SWEEP Foundation on Environmental Sustainability
Date: 11-01-21

The Coca-Cola Foundation has awarded a grant to SWEEP Foundation to launch a new environmental sustainability initiative, titled â€œWaste In The Cityâ€, across key locations in Lagos- Nigeria.
As part of the companyâ€™s commitment to fostering a waste-free world, the grant was awarded to the NGO to bolster efforts to reduce plastic pollution and engender a positive orientation towards environmental wellness practices.
Through this grant, the Waste In The City initiative will be rolled out across three local government areas within Lagos State comprising Surulere LGA, Coker-Aguda LCDA and Itire-Ikate LCDA. Its implementation will include advocacy; deployment of waste collection receptacles and provision of sustainable livelihood for the youth across selected communities.
SWEEP Foundation will establish 100 pilot collection receptacles (drop-off centres) for the recovery of recyclable waste within Surulere LGA; Coker-Aguda and Itire-Ikate LCDA empowering 100 youthsâ€™ recyclers under this partnership.
Speaking on this partnership with SWEEP Foundation, Nwamaka Onyemelukwe, Head, Public Affairs, Communications & Sustainability, Coca-Cola Nigeria Limited explained,
â€œThat the partnership is part of an on-going commitment to invest in innovation that supports sustainable packaging and recycling. The goal of this investment is to fund recycling programmes that are fun and simple but importantly make a tangible difference within the local community.
This is aligned with global efforts to increase the recycling and recovery of PET bottles while promoting the right attitude around waste management. It also provides a unique opportunity to impact the lives of the youth demographic through job creationâ€. We believe projects such as Waste In The City are a real and effective means of driving change around the worldâ€, she added.
While environmental waste in Lagos State poses a problem to the increasing human population, drainages and canals continue to be clogged with plastic and other domestic waste despite the good efforts of waste evacuation operators, Recyclers Association of Nigeria (RAN), the Association Waste Managers of Nigeria (AWMAN) and the Lagos Waste Management Authority, (LAWMA).
According to Phillips Obuesi, President and CEO, Statewide Waste and Environmental Education Foundation (SWEEP), this formed the basis for the initiative.
â€œThe Waste In The City initiative was borne out of a survey conducted by the Foundation, the results of which indicated the unsustainable waste disposal lifestyles occasioned by lack of environmental education and a lack of collection centres within the target communities. These continue to contribute to the low-level participation of citizens in recycling and sustainable waste management. We hope that with Waste In The City, we can not only address this problem in Surulere LGA, Coker-Aguda LCDA and Itire-Ikate LCDA, but across the state and eventually, across the countryâ€, he remarked.
The WASTE IN THE CITY initiative, developed by SWEEP Foundation and funded by the Coca-Cola Foundation seeks to reduce the number of unemployed youths while simultaneously reducing recyclable plastic waste across drainages in Surulere. The initiative also increases awareness through community town-halls, participation of target communities and promotion of sustainable plastic waste management at the community level.
Since its launch in 1984, The Coca-Cola Foundation has donated over $1 billion in grants to sustain local communities and support community programs that have led to the improvement of lives across the world. Driven by a need to create a better-shared future for the communities we live and work in, The Coca-Cola Foundationâ€™s contributions have helped protect the environment, promote recycling, empower women and enhance communities the world over.

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