One man’s trash, another man’s revenue: Inside the startup cleaning up Nigeria

As Nigeria’s waste crisis deepens, Ecobarter is betting that paying people to recycle and digitising informal collectors can succeed where public systems have struggled.

Nigeria’s urban population has grown steadily over the past decade. Its waste management systems, however, have not kept pace.

In major cities like Lagos, Abuja, and Port Harcourt, the consequences are visible in plain sight: heaps of refuse lining roads, drainage systems clogged with plastic, and the persistent smell of waste in densely populated neighbourhoods. 

According to some estimates, Nigeria generates over 30 million tonnes of waste annually, and managing that waste falls largely to local government councils, supported by a handful of private operators. In practice, however, collection is inconsistent, and disposal is often inadequate. Waste goes uncollected for days or weeks, and when it is eventually picked up, it is frequently dumped rather than properly processed. 

Amidst this chaos, Ecobarter, a tech-enabled social enterprise, is bidding to make Nigeria’s cities cleaner while reducing environmental pollution. Founder Rita Idehai started the company in 2018 after struggling to find an organisation that would recycle items she had gathered at home.

EcoBarter collects and monetises waste — plastic, aluminium, and other metals — by transforming it into new products. Rather than charging users for waste collection, a standard practice among government-backed agencies, the company pays them. Households and businesses can exchange recyclable waste for cash. In 2025, the company expanded its scope to include organic waste, which it now channels into a biogas plant in Abuja.

The idea is as much behavioural as it is operational. By attaching monetary value to waste, Ecobarter incentivises users to separate and store recyclables rather than disposing of them indiscriminately. According to Idehai, this shift is critical, as people are less likely to dispose of waste indiscriminately when they see it as valuable.

From informal beginnings to digital infrastructure

An Ecobarter collector weighs plastic bottles

Today, the company serves roughly 13,000 users across Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt, and Ib...