Dan Ikpoyi & Chinedu Asadu
LAGOS, NIGERIA (AP) – Teenage climate activists in Nigeria’s largest city are recycling trash into runway outfits for a ‘Trashion Show’.
Founder of Greenfingers Wildlife Initiative Chinedu Mogbo, a conservation group working with the activists, said the show was designed to raise awareness about environmental pollution.
Lagos, one of Africa’s most populous cities with more than 15 million people, generates at least 12,000 metric tonnes of waste daily, authorities said. And implementation of environmental laws is poor: The World Bank estimates that pollution kills at least 30,000 people in this city every year.
In collaboration with young activists and models, the Greenfingers Wildlife Initiative said it’s out to recycle as many plastics as possible, one community at a time. It organises regular trash clean-ups across communities, at drainage ditches and beaches. The plastic litter is then used to create fabrics for the fashion show.
Draped in red plastic spoons and fabric, 16-year-old Nethaniel Edegwa said she joined this year’s edition as a model “to make a change”.
“We can see that we are all being affected by the climate change, so I really want to make a difference,” Edegwa said.
