Environmental Protection Personnel: My Recycling Story.

Growing up as a kid, I never knew how important recycling could be. Most times when I am done with a product, I dispose of the product container carelessly because I don't know of the threat it poses to the environment I live in.

As time went on, I began to learn about the importance of climate change and the contribution I, as an individual, have made to it. The way we dispose of used products matters a lot, and this can cause climate change. Due to this, I became an advocate for climate change and environmental protection personnel.

During my time serving my country, I gave numerous talks at schools, colleges, and organizations, emphasizing the importance of recycling. However, my journey with recycling didn't start there; it began when my big sister and mom opened my eyes to the concept.

In today's blog, we will be exploring the amazing prompt by the Hive-Learners community, telling us to share our experience with recycling.

Here was how I was opened to the world of recycling by my Big Sis. One day, I saw a big sack filled with empty bottles of plastic soft drinks. It was so much that I had to ask her what she wanted to use it for, and then she told me of a recycling company that buys from her, and they pay well.

"You mean you make money from all the plastic bottles I have been kicking off after I am done with the content that is in them?"

I was surprised, and she has people who help her go around cleaning the environment of waste bottles like this. I kept asking her how much she made, but she refused to tell me, knowing how much money can be a motivation to me. I guess she wanted to own that source of income for herself, and I didn't want to poke my nose in too much.

The best part of this was that my environment was clean of these plastic bottles, which were always seen on the road. She has a big tank at the entrance of our community and other places that says

"Dispose of your bottle here."

Every evening, her collectors will go to every location to get all the bottles while picking the ones they see on the roadside.

Years later, I saw how my mom recycled plastic bottles into something useful.

There are still small plastic bottles that are mostly disposed of carelessly because no one wants to keep such bottles after consuming the contents. Most people don't want people to even know they drink such so they drink the gin and throw the bottle anywhere they can.

These bottles are collected from shops that sell this gin, hotels, and sometimes bought. She uses this bottle to resell her groundnuts.

Now, the perception people have about bottles like this has changed. Many people don't dispose of this bottle carelessly again; they either keep it to sell or give it to people who will be needing it. No more waste and blocking our drainage with plastic bottles.

Everywhere I go, I still talk about recycling and how important it is to keep our environment safe.

Thanks for reading. My name is Fashtioluwa.

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