Parts Central Limited has unveiled plans to transform plastic waste, water hyacinth and other marine litter recovered from Nigeria’s waterways into economic opportunities through recycling, biofuels and other value-added processes.
The company’s Managing Director, Henry Olaoluwa Onifade, disclosed this while interacting with maritime journalists in Lagos during activities marking his birthday.
The engagement also provided an update on Parts Central’s recently launched nationwide waterways clean-up initiative, which is being implemented in partnership with the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA).
Onifade said the initiative was not limited to removing waste from rivers, canals and other waterways. Rather, it was designed to establish sustainable systems for recovering, processing and converting waste into useful products.
“We don’t have waste anymore; waste is now wealth,” Onifade said.
According to him, the company is exploring opportunities to process biodegradable materials recovered during the clean-up for various applications, including biofuels.
He added that Parts Central was also examining technologies for sorting and processing plastic waste for recycling, with the aim of creating an economically viable circular economy around Nigeria’s waterways.
Parts Central targets pollution-free waterways
Onifade said the growing interest from government agencies, ministries, associations and other stakeholders in cleaner waterways showed that the initiative was addressing a critical national challenge.
He noted that the National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA) was also engaging stakeholders on reducing plastic pollution in waterways.
The Parts Central chief executive said the company welcomed the growing support for the initiative and hoped to integrate organisations and individuals committed to achieving pollution-free waterways.
“Our goal is for us to have pollution-free waterways. By God’s grace, we will integrate everybody who has a very good and genuine mindset that pollution-free waterways is possible in Nigeria.”
He said the clean-up campaign was intended to move beyond temporary waste removal by establishing systems that could support long-term environmental management and economic activity.
Data to guide waterways clean-up
Onifade disclosed that Parts Central was developing a technology-driven database covering ports, jetties, landing sites, riverbanks, dockyards and other locations connected to Nigeria’s inland waterways.
He said the database would help the company and relevant government stakeholders determine the volume of waste generated across different locations and deploy resources more effectively.
According to him, every jetty and landing port would be assessed to determine whether appropriate waste-management facilities were available.
Boats and other watercraft would also be incorporated into the data-gathering process as part of efforts to understand the sources and movement of waste across the waterways.
“It’s not for us to have the data, because if you don’t have data of the people you want to cater for, you don’t know how to cater for them,” he said.
Onifade explained that the company had spent considerable time testing different technologies and devices capable of tackling waterway pollution.
He added that the initiative would eventually involve manufacturers and other stakeholders across the plastics and waste-management value chain.
Clean-up campaign to expand beyond Lagos
The managing director further disclosed that Parts Central was preparing to extend the clean-up campaign beyond Lagos.
He said the company planned to flag off the waterways clean-up exercise in Port Harcourt and Imo State, as part of its broader expansion across the country.
However, Onifade said Parts Central was currently putting structures in place to ensure that the initiative was properly coordinated and supported by data before expanding to additional locations.
He stressed that the long-term vision was to create a nationwide system where waterways would not only be cleaner but would also become sources of employment, enterprise and wealth creation.
The initiative, he said, would require collaboration among government agencies, communities, private-sector operators and other stakeholders.
From environmental challenge to economic opportunity
Onifade said the company’s approach was based on the belief that environmental challenges could be converted into economic opportunities.
He explained that recovered waste could serve as a resource for recycling, energy production and other value-added activities, rather than being treated solely as material for disposal.
The company’s plans reflect a broader effort to develop a circular economy around Nigeria’s waterways, where waste recovery, processing and reuse can support both environmental protection and economic activity.
Onifade also defended his transition from partisan politics to business, saying his experience in politics had strengthened his understanding of public needs and motivated him to pursue practical solutions through enterprise.
“I took my own to the other side. I took it from politics to business,” he said.
He urged Nigerians to embrace the concept of converting environmental challenges into economic opportunities.
“No more waste on the waterways; we will now have wealth on the waterways.”
