Nestlé Nigeria and FBRA Drive Circular Economy Push, Turning Waste into Wealth

By Adebote Mayowa
Photojournalist & Creative Director, Climagraphy

As Nigeria’s population accelerates towards an estimated 237 million by 2025, according to the United Nations Population Fund, the country’s waste management challenge has reached a critical point. With the World Bank estimating that over 32 million tonnes of solid waste are generated annually, the urgency for sustainable, inclusive, and scalable waste solutions has never been greater.
One of the most impactful responses to this growing environmental concern has been the adoption of the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) policy. Introduced in 2014 by the National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA), the policy places responsibility for post-consumer packaging waste on producers. This regulatory framework led to the establishment of the Food and Beverage Recycling Alliance (FBRA) in 2018, Nigeria’s first Producer Responsibility Organisation (PRO) for the food and beverage sector.
Since its inception, FBRA has grown from four founding members into a coalition of 49 member organisations as of November 2025. Through coordinated action, the Alliance has enabled the recovery of over 100,000 metric tonnes of plastic waste nationwide, redefining waste as a resource and strengthening Nigeria’s emerging circular economy.
“While FBRA may not be a household name, its impact is clearly visible in cleaner communities and the empowerment of waste collectors, especially in Lagos State,” said Victoria Uwadoka, Corporate Communications, Public Affairs and Sustainability Lead at Nestlé Nigeria.
Nestlé Nigeria, one of the country’s most established food and beverage companies, has emerged as a key driver of this transformation. Beyond commercial success, the company has embedded environmental stewardship into its core business strategy, aligning profit with planet-focused responsibility.
As a founding member of FBRA, Nestlé Nigeria has consistently played a leading role in advancing sustainable packaging and waste recovery initiatives. According to Uwadoka, collaboration remains central to the Alliance’s success. “Though we compete commercially as producers, we unite as collaborators when it comes to fulfilling our shared environmental responsibilities,” she said.
This spirit of collaboration has translated into measurable outcomes. In December 2023, Nestlé Nigeria achieved 100 percent plastic neutrality, recovering and recycling an amount of plastic equivalent to what it introduced into the Nigerian market. The milestone reinforced the company’s commitment to ensuring its packaging footprint does not become an environmental burden.
Nestlé Nigeria also became the first company in the country to introduce 50 percent recycled polyethylene terephthalate (rPET) into its Nestlé Pure Life water bottles. The initiative, which complies fully with the Standards Organisation of Nigeria’s food-grade packaging regulations, represents a sustained commitment to circularity rather than a one-off sustainability gesture.
Through FBRA’s framework, Nestlé Nigeria and other member companies have helped activate the entire waste value chain—from informal waste collectors to recyclers and manufacturers. By ensuring that plastics are collected, recycled, and reintegrated into production cycles, the Alliance has demonstrated how coordinated industry action can convert environmental responsibility into economic opportunity.
“Manufacturers do not produce plastics to litter the streets,” Uwadoka explained. “Consumers discard them, but through FBRA’s system, that waste is recovered, creating jobs and value along the way.”
She further highlighted the importance of closing the loop in Nestlé’s sustainability agenda. “Every bottle removed from the environment and kept out of the ocean is one less problem. Circularity is the destination. It’s not just about collection, but about using, collecting, transforming, and reusing.”
The partnership between Nestlé Nigeria and FBRA underscores the power of industry-led collaboration in addressing Nigeria’s waste management challenges. Through shared responsibility, continuous investment, and innovation, both organisations are contributing to cleaner cities, job creation, and progress toward global sustainability goals.
As FBRA strengthens collaboration across the waste ecosystem and Nestlé Nigeria continues to lead by example, the message is clear: building a cleaner and more sustainable Nigeria is a collective effort—and meaningful progress is already being made.

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Nestlé Nigeria and the Food and Beverage Recycling Alliance (FBRA) are leading Nigeria’s circular economy drive, recovering over 100,000 metric tonnes of plastic waste and advancing sustainable packaging through Extended Producer Responsibility initiatives.