Rite Foods Limited has announced a target of achieving zero waste to landfill by 2030, reinforcing its environmental sustainability efforts and commitment to the circular economy.

The company’s Head of Corporate Affairs and Sustainability, Ekuma Eze, disclosed the target during Rite Foods’ partnership with the Ogun State Waste Management Authority (OGWAMA) to commemorate World Cleanup Day, themed, “From Clean Plates to Clean Cities.”

As part of the initiative, Rite Foods distributed 600 coveralls to street sweepers across Ogun State.

Eze said the company’s approach was to ensure waste generated from its operations was reused, repurposed or recycled instead of being sent to landfills.

He said: “As a company, we believe that by 2030, we should have achieved zero waste to landfill, meaning that none of the waste we generate from our operations will end up in the landfill. All of it will be useful, repurposed, reused and recycled.”

According to Eze, the company’s participation in the World Cleanup Day initiative was also intended to recognise street sweepers who work every day to maintain clean cities and communities.

He said Rite Foods was supplying the workers with coveralls and appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) to support the safe and effective performance of their duties.

Eze said the initiative was especially significant because Rite Foods operates in Ogun State, making it important for the company to contribute to the wellbeing of communities where it has operations.

He added that the initiative reflected Rite Foods’ commitment to circularity, explaining that about 30 per cent of the materials used to produce the coveralls came from the company’s waste materials.

“So, the coveralls you see, about 30 per cent of what we use to make them comes from our waste materials. We are repurposing waste to make what they are wearing,” he said.

Eze said the initiative demonstrated how materials that might otherwise find their way into drains, onto land or into landfills could instead be converted into useful products.

He said: “Those wastes that should have ended up in the drains or landfill, we have repurposed to make the coveralls they wear. So, it is a way of telling our story of circularity. Nothing should be wasted.”

He added that Rite Foods’ environmental sustainability efforts were intended to position the company among Nigerian businesses recognised for responsible environmental practices.

“We want to be one of the companies that, when you mention the name in Nigeria, one of the first things people will recall is that we are an environmentally sustainable company, a company that supports environmental sustainability,” he said.

Eze also stressed that the partnership with OGWAMA was not a one-off intervention, stating that the relationship would continue for as long as Rite Foods remained in operation.

The Special Adviser on Environment to Governor Dapo Abiodun and Managing Director of OGWAMA, Farouk Akintunde Adeniyi, called for collective action from residents, corporate organisations and other stakeholders to maintain a clean and healthy environment across Ogun State.

Adeniyi commended Rite Foods for partnering with the authority on the environmental clean-up exercise, describing the initiative as an example of corporate social responsibility.

He encouraged other organisations to support government efforts on environmental management, stressing that achieving a cleaner environment required the involvement of all stakeholders.

He also drew attention to OGWAMA’s Loopbox initiative, which collects recyclable waste from communities while compensating residents, and emphasised the need to transform waste into wealth.

The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Dr Kafayat Lawal, also commended Rite Foods for the initiative and called on other companies to replicate the gesture.

She said greater support for environmental workers would enable them to carry out their responsibilities more effectively.

Source: Guardian