Support Recyclespay for 1000 children in Lagos

The Recyclespay Educational Project is a project that has been changing the narrative of children in low-income schools who are unable to attend school due to a lack of funding.

The project developed a system in which recyclable waste is exchanged for school fees and other school necessities the RecyclesPay project heavily involves mobility to pick up plastics from schools in different locations for the waste to value exchange to take place, this has proven extremely difficult with the rising costs of fuel and vehicle maintenance.

This has drastically reduced our ability to cover as many schools as we started with. We were able to collect 145.5 kg of plastics between the months of October and January 2026.

This is not to say we are relenting on our efforts but to recommit to the goal of ensuring every child has equitable access to a learning environment by 2030.
The Recyclespay Educational Project needs your support now more than ever, as we continue to review and optimize our operations for better efficiency in reaching more school children, we need you to donate, share our story of change, and become consistent cheer leaders to solve for the global out of school crisis.

Your support will be the difference between 20 million and zero.

One plastic at a time, one donation at a time, together we will phase out the difficult reality millions of children face with accessing education.

We greatly appreciate your support so far and commit to ensuring we do more to protect these vulnerable children and give them a future they can hope for.

• GlobalGiving_Data_for_JANUARY_2026_African_Clean_Up_Initaitive.docx (DOCX)

This quarter, our story is not just about plastics collected, it’s about resilience, patience, and community rebuilding.

For four years, through your support, the RecyclesPay Educational Project has continued to bridge two urgent crises in Nigeria: education inequity and plastic pollution. Our mission remains unchanged, to ensure children in low-income communities can stay in school by paying their school fees with plastic waste.

But, as with the nation itself, our realities continue to evolve.

Between June and September 2025, schools across Nigeria went on their usual mid-year break, a two-month period that saw reduced in-person activities and, naturally, fewer plastic recoveries. In total, we recovered 216.7 kg of PET plastics, 1.4 kg of sachet waste, 0.5 kg of aluminum cans, and 4.8 kg of cartons across our active schools during the quarter.

Active Schools This Quarter:

• Goriola Primary School: 25 kg PET.
  
  
• Glorious Bequest School: 35 kg PET, 1.4 kg sachets.
  
  
• Kingston High School: 70 kg PET.
  
  
• Righteous View School: 45 kg PET, 0.5 kg cans, 4.8 kg cartons
• Karmel School: 35kg PET

While these numbers appear modest, they reflect the continuity of our work in spite of seasonal limitations, schools were closed for August and September, and our storage facilities reached capacity.

With in-school activities paused, our team took the opportunity to ramp up advocacy across all project schools. We engaged teachers and parents in community sensitisation sessions, distributed menstrual hygiene products (pads) to adolescent girls, and renewed conversations about responsible waste management and education access.

These outreach efforts remind us that the RecyclesPay model is more than a waste-to-fees exchange; it’s a social bridge connecting climate action, education, and dignity.

One key insight this quarter has been the urgent need for expanded storage capacity and/or looking for more partners who will take the recovered plastics off us quicker. Our storage facility now reaches capacity faster than in previous months, a positive sign of adoption, but one that challenges our logistics.

We are working toward establishing community-level micro-collection hubs, which will reduce transport costs and allow for faster turnaround between collection and recycling.

As schools reopen in October, we are resuming full-scale pickups and preparing for a strong final quarter of the year. Our focus will remain on:

• Re-establishing high-frequency collections across all 15 partner schools.
  
  
• Scaling community storage to prevent overflow and improve efficiency.
  
  
• Deepening advocacy on the link between education, gender, and environmental justice.
  
  

Despite economic hardship, high fuel costs, and logistical constraints, we remain steadfast in our belief that no child should be denied education because of poverty, and that even one recovered bottle can represent restored dignity.

Your donations continue to make this possible.
Every naira, every kilogram, every child, a step closer to a more just and sustainable world.

Thank you for holding space for hope, one plastic at a time.

• GlobalGiving_Data_for_SEPTEMBER_2025_African_Clean_Up_Initaitive.docx (DOCX)