"Big Money": Nigerian Man Turns Water Bottle Into Cash in Europe and Flaunts Earning, People React
- A Nigerian man living in Europe turned used water bottles into money and showed how much he earned
- He shared the story on TikTok, saying that since his wife had gone to work, he decided to sell the plastics himself
- He compared Europe and Nigeria, saying that in Nigeria people throw plastics on the street while in Europe every plastic has value
A German-based Nigerian man has bragged about the money he made after selling used water bottles.
He revealed that Europe is not like Nigeria, where a lot of people drink and throw the bottles on the street.
Source: TikTok
Man sells used water bottles
He explained that this doesn't apply in Europe, as everything is useful, while he showed how he was able to sell the bottles.
He also shows the moment he collected the receipt from the machine and how much it was, as well as the money he got from the cashier.
The Nigerian man, who is currently in Europe with his wife, shared the story on his TikTok page, @ooshanla.
He revealed that his wife had gone to work and he wouldn't want to bore her with the task, hence he took it upon himself to do it and sell the plastics.
He took two big bags filled with plastics to the said place and began to remove the plastic from his bag one after another and put them inside the machine.
Source: TikTok
He showed the amount as it began to increase, and while at it, he spoke about the habit of Nigerians, revealing that many of them dispose of the water plastics they buy in the street and that it is why the streets are dirty, among other issues.
Speaking about the waste:
"Nothing is a waste abroad, as you're buying water, you're selling the waste. My wife, Balikis has gone to work and the plastics are too much at home so I decided to sell them so as not to overwork her.
"Nothing is a waste, you'll see how I'll get my money. It's not like my country that if you buy a plastic water, you'll have to throw the plastic away. You'll see how much I got."
He mentioned what happens in Nigeria while showing how he turned waste to money abroad:
"If it's my country, after buying plastic water you throw it on the road. And it'll all be dirty, there's nothing like that here.
"I have 4 euros now, it's calculating it, you can see I have 6 euro now."
When done with the plastics, putting them into the machine, he received the receipt and went ahead to get the cash after submitting the receipt.
"See how much I made in total, 11 euro, 50 cent. You know its value in Nigeria, it's a big money.
"Nothing is a waste in Europe. If it's in Nigeria, after drinking your water, you throw it away, it's why the streets are so dirty."
He made several other statements in the video, and as the post made its way online, Nigerians stormed the comment page of the post to share their thoughts.
Legit.ng picked interest in the story and reached out for comments. The National President of the Association of Waste Managers of Nigeria (AWAMN) and IFAT Africa Advisory Board member, Dr. Olugbenga Adebola, shed more light on the business of recycling in Nigeria.
When asked how the recycling system in Nigeria works, especially for plastic bottles, he gave a clear and detailed explanation.
Dr. Adebola, who is also the CEO of Richbol Environmental Services Ltd and Richbol Recycling Initiatives, explained:
"Plastic bottles are either collected from the waste bins, directly from the waste generators or from our disposal sites. People are recovering it, even if you have drank it and you drop it, somebody picks it up because there's an economic value added to it. And then they take it to an Aggregator or arecycling facility."
Speaking further on the recycling chain, he added:
"People bring it to a recycling facility very well. There are so many people within the value chain. There are people who are waste pickers who pick the bottles or other recyclables, either from the dump sites or from the doorstep or from the dust bins. That's another level of the value chain. An aggregator cleans it up to some extent and segregates it. Some will remove the label. Some will remove the cap etc."
He emphasized that many Nigerians are making a living through waste recycling.
"Then we weigh it, we weigh whatever that they have brought. And then we pay them accordingly. And we have people who are private citizens, who are women, young people. They segregate it on their own, they bring it to our facility. We buy. Some will even go as far as to go to parties. That's why when you go to parties, you see immediately after the party or even before the party ends, there are people there that already, depending on how porous or how tight the security of the place is, you see people already scrambling for the bottles. They want to pick it up or pile it up in a bag or sack and take it to where they will buy them off."
On technological adoption, Dr. Adebola revealed the existence of machines similar to those in the published story:
"We have a reverse vending machine that is also collecting the plastic bottles too and then once it is taken to a recycling facility, the recycling facility like ours will recycle and turn it into either pet flakes or several other production of other new materials/products."
When asked if such machines could be found and utilized in Nigeria, he responded confidently:
"Nigeria is doing well with waste recovery and recycling, even though it appears that we are still scratching the surface because we still have a lot of waste that is generated that is yet to be collected or recycled. But at least we are not left behind"
He provided pictorial evidence of a Lagos-based school that accepts recyclables from parents in exchange for payment of their child’s education levy.
"We have instances in Lagos where a school is actually receiving recyclable materials like plastics in lieu for the payment of the students school fees."
He also highlighted an initiative under the office of the Special Adviser to the Governor of Lagos State on Climate Change and Circular Economy
"I also mentioned to you that we have, under the office of the special advisor to Mr. Governor on climate change, where you can also utilize your your recyclable waste, to have what we call Cowry Card. Cowry Card is the Lagos state card that you use to enter BRT, you use it to enter ferry, and so many other activities."
Dr. Adebola corrected the common perception of waste pickers being called scavengers, explaining their proper designation: HE noted that they are Resources Recovery Agents
"For transportation, you use recyclable waste also in Lagos. People are making a lot of money, and I told you how the so-called, the people that you call scavengers, we don't call them scavengers, we call them resource recoverers."
According to him, plastic waste in particular has become scarce on the streets due to increased recovery efforts.
He also shared inspiring stories of individuals who sponsored themselves through school with money earned from waste recycling.
"I also know a lot of people that are involved in waste picking, who entered maybe after their secondary school. Some have already seen themselves through the university. Some were even in the university. They were coming to work on various landfill sites to recover the recyclables and then through that, they have built themselves through the university. I know so many."
"So, it is a sustainable livelihood for people in Nigeria. Women, young adults, and people of school age and all that. So, I mean, it is a sustainable source of livelihood for a lot of people."
"It brings food on the table. And it is also helping to accomplish, you know, a lot of the, most of the SDGs, the Sustainable Development Goals, as highlighted with the seven things. I mean, giving people access to healthcare, cleaner environment, and so on and so forth."
Dr. Olugbenga Adebola, National President of AWAMN and IFAT Africa Advisory Board member, concluded by noting that Nigeria’s recycling industry is already creating livelihoods, advancing sustainability goals, and reshaping perceptions about waste and resource recovery.
Reactions as man sells used water bottles
Roses declared:
"Na lie we have it in Nigeria also."
bluechief stated:
"€14 is like 25k ooo Omoh some filling station." attendant salary for naija."
Diana Fletcher declared:
"Sir please how can I waybill them to you?"
Oluwapelumi said:
"Who else came across this on Friday can we be friends."
Pablowizzy123 said:
"Imagine say na Nigeria get am , I swear na ABOKI go get money pass."
Ajoke_gold declared:
"We Dey sell the plastic too here, same here in 9ja some people normally pack the plastic and resell them again."
Aare Ishola Yousuph said:
"They also buy plastic in Nigeria. What do you think those who pick it around do with it? You can talk about the organized system."
OLUWATOSIN noted:
"Na because you no come 9ja we sell everything sell able."
AJIKE STITCHES expressed:
"Yes ooo Una dey enjoy for that but everything in Nigeria is west product."
Medakay noted:
"if it's in Nigeria, aboki people will even put slippers and woman brazier."
CP-Studio stated:
*When last u come naija ….. the rate people Dey store plastics for sale now to see plastic for road now sef na by connection no be only Aboki Dey pick plastic now sef."
kisskandance stressed:
"Now it’s country like this that can impose tax on the people massively and no one will complain and not Nigeria baba tinubu mtchwwww."
S E Y I wrote:
xIf I no turn this thing no work make I no Wetin cause ham bottle go scarce for street ajeh."
Man earns money from recycling plastic bottles
Meanwhile, Legit.ng reported a similar story about a Nigerian man in Germany who made money by recycling used plastic bottles.
A video showed him inserting the bottles and cans into a recycling machine and revealing his earnings. Many people reacted, converting the amount into naira and commenting on his clever way of earning extra cash.
Proofreading by Funmilayo Aremu, copy editor at Legit.ng.
Source: Legit.ng
