Youth-led NGO Leverages Technology, Gamification to Tackle Plastic Pollution 

Kayode Tokede

U-Recycle Initiative Africa, one of Africa’s largest youth-led environmental NGOs, has officially relaunched the #iAmPlasticWize Challenge, a first-of-its-kind gamified web-app in Nigeria, designed to creatively equip university students with the knowledge to innovate out of plastic.

With over 400 million tonnes of plastic produced globally each year and less than 10per cent successfully recycled, plastic pollution has become one of the world’s fastest-growing environmental challenges, particularly in rapidly urbanising regions and educational communities where single-use plastics dominate consumption patterns.

PlasticWize, by U-Recycle Initiative Africa, has been supporting universities to transition to plastic-free, circular economy-driven campuses since its inception.

Through PlasticWize 2.0, U-Recycle Initiative Africa is deploying a range of social innovations across four Nigerian universities, focusing on equipping students and universities to adopt environmentally conscious practices; reducing excessive plastic waste on campuses; influencing behavioral change and addressing policy gaps that fuel pollution; advancing circular economy solutions; and preventing tonnes of plastic waste from entering landfills, streets, and oceans.