By Oluwadamilare Omotosho
Many young men from the Northern parts of the country have poured into Lagos. They live in many of the uncompleted buildings that dot the more populated parts of the metropolis. Others who are mainly scavengers easily set up their shanty shelters close to dumpsites, where they ply their trade, trying to eke out a living from rummaging through trash for recyclable materials they can sell for cash.
Discarded plastic (PET) bottles, cardboard cartons and pieces of iron are the key materials they gather from either homes, neighbourhoods, along the roads and most often the dumpsites.
Musa Jatau, a scavenger, in a chat with Sunday Sun explained how he conducts his business, saying: “I walk around every community looking for plastic bottles, either picking them up from the ground or buying them directly from people. I usually buy plastic bottles for ₦100 per kilogram, cartons for ₦200 per kilogram, and iron for ₦300 per kilogram. We gather everything until it reaches 50 kilograms, then sell it to companies.”
He added that they weigh the iron and transport it to the buyers once it reaches the required weight.
For persons dealing in a variety of garbage most people would not want to touch with a long stick for fear of picking up infections from the trash, but Musa does so daily with bare hands, picking up and checking all manner of items that attract his attention, no matter how dirty or soiled, seemingly without a care in the world.
When asked how he and the other scavengers take care of their health, he replied, “We use herbs to treat ourselves when we’re sick. We’re used to it.”
He also mentioned that they have a shared toilet for hygiene. On the issue of government assistance, he simply stated: “No, there’s no help from the government.”
As with every human activity, there is some degree of specialisation as Sunday Sun found out among the acavengers.
One of them who spoke with the reporter on condition of anoynmity, explained his role: “I help sell and negotiate prices for all the plastics, cartons, and iron that we collect. I don’t pick them myself; I manage the site.”
Regarding prices, he said: “We buy plastic chairs for ₦200 per kilogram, plastic bottles for ₦150, and iron for ₦350 per kilogram. Once it reaches 50 kilograms, we sell to the companies.”
He did not, however, specify how much they sell to the companies, noting that “prices vary due to economic conditions.”
Do they have hygiene facilities, he was prodded? “Yes, there is a building with drinkable water.” As for health, he said: “We don’t usually get sick, but we have special herbs to treat ourselves.”
Interestingly, he is single, but has children who do not live with him. “I send them money sometimes,” he said.
Abdullahi, who refused to give his surname, buys plastic chairs and bottles from people in residential areas just as he picks empty discarded table water bottles as he walks along streets and roads.
He told Sunday Sun: “I buy plastic chairs for ₦150 and bottles for ₦100 per kilogram. It takes weeks to gather 50 kilograms of these materials,” he said, adding that he’s been in the business for seven years, and was brought to Lagos by his brother.
Like most of his other colleagues, who live in close-knit “communities”, he says of his shelter: “I share a small shed with my brothers, who do the same work.”
Just as the others do maintain a level of health, he said: “We usually use herbs, but if they don’t work, we buy medicine.” The bush close to the place they live serves as their toilet.
His comrade-in-scavenging, Jalio Biu, similarly buys both transparent and coloured plastic bottles, used cartons and iron.
He told this reporter: “I have been in this business for more than 10 years with my brothers.”
According to him, he pays more for coloured plastic bottles (N150) than the transparent ones (N100). He buys cartons at ₦200 per kilogram and iron ₦500 per kiloigram.
“We stay in a small building close to where we store our bottles and other items. We have potable drinking water and a toilet,” Biu said, painting a picture of his living condition. Whe he falls sick, he treats himself with local herbs.
Curiously, one of the scvangers who has been engaged in recovering plastic bottles and chairs, as well as recyclable iron, for 15 years since he got Lagos revealed that marriage is not in his plans for the meantime. And his reason is: “I do not earn much money from this business. I live at this dumpsite, which is where I store the things I pick. We don’t have potable water; we buy sachet water or fetch it from a nearby house. We have a shared toilet.”