The Embassy of France in Nigeria has completed a three-year €753,000 Plastic Waste Processing Project to strengthen recycling, innovation and entrepreneurship in Nigerian universities.
Consequently, stakeholders have described the initiative as a major boost to the country’s transition to a circular economy.
Implemented under the Embassy’s Fonds Équipe France (FEF) framework, the project focused on improving plastic waste management through research, innovation, practical training and the establishment of recycling micro-plants on participating university campuses.
The initiative also encouraged students and researchers to develop sustainable solutions to plastic pollution while creating economic opportunities through recycling and the circular economy.
Speaking at the closeout ceremony in Abuja, the French Ambassador to Nigeria, Marc Fonbaustier, said the project had demonstrated that environmental sustainability and economic growth could go hand in hand.
He stressed that addressing the growing plastic waste challenge requires more than regulations and awareness campaigns, noting that long-term success depends on building viable business models around recycling, waste collection and the reuse of plastic materials.
“Environmental ambition and economic opportunity are not in opposition. They are, in fact, two sides of the same coin,” the ambassador said.
Fonbaustier noted that the green economy has become a major driver of industrial transformation, employment and investment globally, adding that Nigeria’s youthful population and expanding technological capacity position the country to harness enormous opportunities in plastic recycling.
He also called for stronger collaboration between Nigerian and French universities, researchers and private sector organisations to develop innovative solutions to environmental challenges.
“It is my sincere hope that French and Nigerian researchers will work hand in hand, generating the scientific knowledge and technological solutions that this challenge demands,” he said.
While formally declaring the project closed, the ambassador assured stakeholders that France would continue to support Nigeria through institutional partnerships, technical cooperation, peer learning and knowledge exchange rather than direct project implementation.
Speaking with journalists after the event, the Deputy Head of Cooperation at the Embassy of France, Pierre Andriamampianina, described the initiative as an outstanding success whose impact extended far beyond its financial value.
“The return on investment for Nigeria is much more than money. It is also in terms of capacity building, participation and youth mobilisation,” he said.
According to him, participating universities surpassed expectations by introducing additional activities beyond the original project scope and integrating plastic waste management into their institutional systems.
He said the initiative had stimulated innovation, created employment opportunities and demonstrated that plastic waste could be transformed into valuable economic resources.
“My main expectation is that this network will grow and take on board several other universities,” he added.
The Vice-Chancellor of the University of Lagos, Professor Folasade Ogunsola, represented by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Development Services), Professor Afolabi Lesi, said the project had provided students with practical learning opportunities while fostering entrepreneurship.
She disclosed that the university’s recycling micro-plant would initially manufacture household and office furniture from recycled plastics before expanding into commercial production.
Ogunsola said the institution also plans to collaborate with both formal and informal waste pickers to ensure a steady supply of recyclable materials while creating additional sources of income for surrounding communities.
She added that the project had opened new frontiers for research in environmental engineering, sustainability, environmental science and materials science, inspiring students to pursue careers in those fields.
According to her, the University of Lagos currently diverts about five tonnes of plastic waste from landfills and neighbouring communities through the recycling facility established under the initiative.
She noted that replicating similar projects nationwide would significantly reduce plastic pollution, improve environmental quality and unlock substantial economic opportunities.
Also speaking, the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Calabar, Professor Offiong Efanga Offiong, represented by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Research, Linkages and Collaborations, Professor Anthony Eneji, said the initiative had demonstrated the enormous commercial potential of plastic recycling.
Eneji noted that projections showing participating universities could collectively generate more than ₦900 million from recycling activities underscored the vast economic opportunities available in the sector.
“If we can scale this up to a national level, there are billions of naira to be generated from plastic recycling alone,” he said.
Earlier, the project initiator and former Science and Higher Education Attaché at the French Embassy, Sebastian Bede, who joined the ceremony virtually, said the intervention was conceived to empower Nigerian universities to develop locally driven solutions to plastic pollution.
He explained that the project supported 13 universities in developing plastic waste management solutions, conducted awareness campaigns across 11 campuses that reached more than 1,700 participants, established recycling micro-plants and organised practical training programmes that combined theoretical knowledge with hands-on experience.
Bede said the initiative was not solely about reducing plastic waste but about equipping universities, students and researchers with the knowledge, technology and partnerships required to sustain innovation long after the project had ended.
“This project was about plastic waste, but it was also about people, ideas and the future,” he said, urging participating institutions to build on the achievements recorded to expand recycling initiatives and accelerate Nigeria’s transition to a sustainable circular economy.
