National Association of Scrap and Waste Workers of Nigeria (NASWON)
Lagos, Nigeria
Primary information
- Year formed
- 2018
- Registered in
- 2021
- Language
- English
- Number of members
- 700
- Type of members
- Members are waste pickers
- Occupation of members
- Scrap dealers, Waste pickers
- Type of Organization
- Association
- Organizational Reach
- National
- Workplace of members
- Collection from companies, Door to door, Dumpsite, Home-based, Landfill, Slums, Street
- Membership
- No
- Organization Structure
- There will be an election once they get the certificate by the government.
- Objectives
- The same as the Global Alliance of Waste Pickers.
- Education and training
- Risks & health
- Partnering organizations
- FIWON
- Funding
- Self funded
- Internal elections
- Every 3 years
- Women composition
- 33,7%
Social networking sites
Benefits
Services
- What kind of relationship exists with the municipality?
- None
- How is the relationship with the municipality?
- Excellent and/or friendly
- Types of materials
- Bottles, Cans, Clothing, Electronic waste, Glass, Household items, Metals, Paper and cardboard, Plastic, Plastics, Shoe soles
- Are they selling to middlemen?
- Yes
- Activities
- Buying materials, Cleaning, Collecting materials, Collection of recyclables, Community sale of materials, Community storage of materials, Organizing collective events, Selling materials, Sorting waste, Special collections from large generators of waste, Training and capacity building
- Challenges to access waste
- Contamination from waste, Foul smell & contamination from waste, Harassment from authorities, Lack of education & training, Lack of infrastructure & resources, Lack of recognition, Lack of tools, Lack of unity between organizations, Obtaining licenses, Price fluctuations of waste, Privatization, Transportation
Complementary Information
- Information source
- Interview with Friday Oku. 2022-02-15
Comments / Narrative
We are organizing the Wastepickers in Nigeria through their different clusters or dump sites and we are processing the registration under Trade Union Act in the Ministry of Labour and Employment.
National Association of Scrap and Waste Workers of Nigeria (NASWON); an affiliate of The Federation of Informal Workers’ Organizations of Nigeria (FIWON) is a platform that represent those at the base of the recycling industry whose source of livelihood depends on the collection, sorting and recycling of waste. These three activities are always interrelated reflecting the environmental implications of their work. NASWON engages government at all levels, the private sector, local and international development agencies to promote knowledge driven initiatives to advance the socio-economic rights of scrap and waste workers.
NASWON submitted for certification in 2021 and is still waiting for an answer (as of February 2022).
The National Association of Scrap and Waste Workers of Nigeria (NASWON) was formerly named National Union of Scrap and Waste Workers of Nigeria (NUSWON).