Nestlé Nigeria has reinforced its commitment to environmental sustainability with a nationwide cleanup and community awareness campaign, now in its sixth year. The initiative, carried out in partnership with the African Clean-Up Initiative and local authorities, mobilised 516 Nestlé Cares volunteers from the company’s head office, branch offices, and factories across the country.
The cleanup exercise spanned 11 cities, targeting major market areas such as Oke-Arin Market in Lagos, Utako Market in Abuja, Abubakar Rimi Market in Kano, and others in Jos, Sagamu, Ibadan, Agbara, Abaji, Enugu, Awka, and Port Harcourt. These high-traffic locations were selected for their heavy waste generation and significant community influence.
Through this collective effort, 5,601 kilograms of solid waste and 379.2 kilograms of recyclable waste were removed, showcasing the effectiveness of corporate-community collaboration in addressing environmental issues.
Speaking at the Lagos activation, Nestlé Nigeria’s Corporate Communications, Public Affairs, and Sustainability Lead highlighted the campaign’s alignment with this year’s World Environment Day theme, “Curbing Plastic Pollution.” She underscored Nestlé’s broader commitment to a waste-free future through partnerships with organisations like the Food and Beverage Recycling Alliance and recycling firms including Alef Recycling, Wecyclers, Chanja Datti, and Maladase Ecopreneurs Management.
She also noted that the company’s Employee Plastics Collection Scheme, launched in 2022, empowers staff to take action by recycling their own plastic waste. The scheme has so far diverted nearly 6,000 kilograms of plastic from landfills. Since 2019, Nestlé Nigeria’s combined sustainability efforts have resulted in the retrieval of over 61,000 metric tonnes of plastic from the environment.
The founder of the African Clean-Up Initiative described the campaign as more than a clean-up effort, calling it a movement driven by shared responsibility, collaboration, and the circular economy. He stressed that each action—whether collecting waste or raising awareness—plays a role in building a culture of environmental consciousness.
With more than six decades of operation in Nigeria, Nestlé continues to embed sustainability into its core business operations, combining corporate responsibility with active community engagement to tackle the pressing challenge of plastic pollution.
