   YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD AND YOU: A program sponsored by sustainable design consult dedicated to enlighten listeners to know about the environment, the right of a citizen living in an environment, environmental hazards and things needed to be done to prevent hazards from happening.
On a new episode of the program, The host Comfort Omolafe with the sponsor of the program Tpl. Ogunseyi Ayodele Joseph will be putting questions to the General manager of Secure Recycling, Mr. Oluwatoyin Adesina Alege on how to convert waste to wealth(Using PET bottles to pay school fees).
   Can you summarize the idea of the partnership between your company, Sustainable design consult and Secure recycling, What is the Government, Your company (Sustainable design consult), secure recycling and society gaining from the initiative?
TPL. Ogunseyi Ayodele said partnership between the sustainable design consult and secure recycling is in a multi dimensional pool and critically we at sustainable design consult are going to provide the technical support, Part of the finance and as well we’ve been in charge of research and the research of what we can use the pet bottles for maybe in the future the nearest future and technical support in the way that whatever that the secure recycling is doing will be environmental friendly and any other assistance that we need to render to make the business or to make the initiative run smoothly will come from sustainable design consult but the secure recycling people are the experts and they have a technical know how on how to secure the items, maybe from the vendors or from the one that they brought on board, getting it from the schools and the logistic aspect of it. Secure Cycling will be in charge of the technical aspect of the business and partly financing it. He said sustainable design consult will still earn little profit aside from the experience, and for government and the host community, Akure and Ondo state at large.
He said plastic is something that is killing the environment. When our drainage channel is blocked by bottles, flaws and some other environmental problems we arise. He said secure recycling are coming to help the government in cleaning the environment and the people in the community will be part of the team being a vendor or being a supplier or dealer, they can clean their own environment as well and if they have plastic, they can exchange it with money, it will be a win win situation for Sustainable design consult, secure recycling, the people and the government.
   Have you received inquiries from individuals, schools or corporate organizations ever since you spoke about PET bottles for school fees?
Mr. Toyin Alege said people have been calling them, some people which include the students even visited the yard(location) to see what Secure recycling are doing and how they can benefit from it. He also said they have received several calls and text messages. People are really welcoming the idea and would loved to make more money to the ones they have already, He said the response of people have been encouraging.
Why don’t you go for other useful waste particle instead of choosing PET bottles?
TPL. Ogunseyi Ayodele said he had a deep knowledge about recycling and he had seen it all like iron articles as in condemn iron articles, it may be capital injecting to be buying it or to be recycling, He said iron articles is not that dangerous to our environment but the plastic can stay thousands of years maybe on the ground or under the ground without being destroyed. He said almost all these plastic nylons that enter our oceans will be there to do harm than good to all the animals under the under the sea. The bottles can be recycled and be of benefit for the environment and all of us.
He said why can’t we turn this problem to a kind of avenue that can be fetching everybody money. He said when they talked about it and he did the market research on one recycling company in Lagos on their dealings and they are still in the market, they are one of the big player now in Lagos. He said he added these things together and met with the secure recycling and management, They discussed and understood each other. They can serve as a lifeline for people and that was why they had to get it done. He said they are battling with PET bottles because it’s more dangerous to the environment. We can turn it into an avenue  that everyone of us can make money from. He said PET bottles  is more like a starter for now because of the danger it possess to the environment.
  Are you planning to be using these PET bottles as raw materials or otherwise what is your plan?
Mr. Toyin Alege said secure recycling main focus is not going to be on using pet bottles as raw material but how to add value to it and these is why we are partnering with sustainable design consult on the area of research and technical aspect of their job. He said they needed somebody to come in, people to come with their own ideas and when these ideas are put together, it could become a bigger thing. This is more of the reason secure recycling partner with sustainable design consult to help in some areas and by the end of the day, everybody will benefit from it. He said their school of thoughts in secure recycling, it isn’t about material, it’s about adding value to the bottles.
   Is it not good to meet some schools during school management and PTA meetings so you can sell this idea to them and answer any questions one on one with them?
TPL. Ogunseyi Ayodele said the scope is very large and we still need to do more and information needs to be more circulated to people, it’s a good idea and they are preparing to write all the schools that they can write to. He said they are writing schools that will accept their offer i.e market target but the school that they are really targeting the schools in the in the small area, school in the high density area, schools close to market area not school that their location is in a low density area, Those are the schools for rich people but the people or the school that you are really targeting are the school that have been located in high identity area. That is where the waste is more generated. He talked about making use of pet bottles for raw material or using it to make some product, he said the main idea is for them to be using pet bottles for their own raw material not selling the raw material outside. He specify that they have a lot of things that pet bottles can be used for, like clothing, shoes, map, and it can also be recycled back to pet bottles and that is why they are investing in the research aspect of it so that they can do the one that they can do, He said out of these numerous items that we can turn pet bottles into, they will choose the one that is more valuable that they have finances for. He said they have different ideas and when they are done researching they will go for more.
Mr. Toyin Alege advised the people to partner with secure recycling so as to make progress together, to create wealth for everybody and having a friendly environment.
TPL. Ogunseyi Ayodele said cleaning the environment is paramount and people should make money from their waste, he then advises the people to partner with secure recycling in picking and gathering pet bottles so as to make more money. He also advises the people to separate their waste i.e separating plastics from metals, separating useable waste from the ones that are not useful.