Hustling in Nigeria: Scavengers in Nigeria are Earning a Living through picking recycling materials (metals and plastics) from waste dump sites - Man must survive

Hello Cent community!

It's believed that because of the happenings around the world, things will become more difficult and the economy of nations will crumble gradually. One good thing about human beings, they must find means of survival, even if it means doing crazy things to put food on their tables. Welcome to the Nigerian hustling post.

A decades ago, people see scavenging as a very bad hustling activities in Nigeria and believe that it's only mad or insane people that are expected to pick dirt's from refuse dumps. This is because the idea of recycling was very limited in Nigeria.

According to my dad, in Port Harcourt City, Nigeria, there's was only one recycling center in Borikiri area of the state. Very few engaged in scavenging in the 1980s and 1990s, but today everyone tribe and ethnic group engage in scavenging.

How did this start in Nigeria
The truth is that a decade ago, the Nigerian economy was pretty better than what is today. For instance, a bag of rice that was sold for ₦8,000 ($50) at $1:₦158.7, today that same bag of rice is sold at ₦30,000 ($50) at $1:₦600.

This is just for a bag of rice alone, but this applies to other commodities both household and foodstuffs. It should be noted that last week Thursday, $1 was about ₦1,000, although it reduced to about ₦700 before the week elapsed. The current minimum wage in Nigeria is just ₦30,000 for workers, while majority of the citizenry are unemployed.

Devising other means of survival became the option for most Nigerians including children. The other day, I visited a recycling center and I asked much they usually buy 1kg of metal and they differentiated metals from aluminum. Aluminum is sold at ₦600 ($1), while iron or steel is sold at ₦150 ($0.25).

The above analysis makes scavenging activities in Nigeria a lucrative business and could take an individual above poverty level if the person gets up to 2kg of aluminum in a day, or iron worth $2 per day.

Due to the unhealthy nature of waste disposal in Nigeria, many scavengers are exposed to health challenges, most especially, respiratory infections.

I'll conclude by saying that, the only thing that can stop a Nigerian from surviving is death, they can do any side hustle as means of survival.

Thanks!

See you in my next hustling post.
Nigerians must survive