A Junior Secondary School (JSS) student of Victory Christian College in Elelenwo, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Ambassador David Pepple, has commenced his ‘Neighbourhood-2- Neighbourhood Plastic Hunt/Campaign’ aimed at curbing plastic waste into the environment.
Pepple last week carried his campaign to his alma mater, Sovina Model Primary School, Elelenwo, where he challenged pupils of the school to support him in the campaign by simply donating their plastic wastes to him for recycling.
He told the pupils that plastic wastes were the greatest waste challenge in the world and as part of his contributions to tackle the challenge he began a series of charity waste to wealth artistic creations, exhibitions, inventions, animations, campaigns and road shows.
He said he had worked with local and international organisations, which had hosted, collaborated and partnered with him and his foundations, Ambassador David Pepple and Ayomide and Ibitamuno Children Foundation, to solve the challenge.
He listed some of the organisations to include Society of Nigerian Artist (SNA), Wider Perspective Limited, Salvation Ministry, Alliance Francaise Port Harcourt, Port Harcourt Chambers of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture ( PHCCIMA), Centre for Creative Development Strategies (CCDS) in collaboration with the embassy of France in Nigeria.
“I am developing an app to help curb the indiscriminate dumping of plastic waste materials in the environment and to enable people to donate plastic wastes to me. Another App I am developing is an emergency response App to curb incidents of child abuse in the society.
“I am an African mathematics ambassador, a chartered class graduate of The Emerging Africa (THE) leadership and entrepreneurship academy; I was also selected for the Cadbury Bournvita Tech Boot Camp 2021 edition.
“Few years ago I discovered that plastics wastes are the greatest waste challenge in the world. To tackle the challenge, I started a series of charity waste to wealth artistic creations, exhibitions, inventions, animations, campaigns and road shows.
“I am here for my special programme tagged, ‘Neighborhood-2-Neighborhood Plastic Hunt/Campaign’, the essence of this project is to create awareness, educate, inform and sensitise people on the importance of proper plastic waste management.
“I am also collecting plastics wastes for recycling to enable me to fund my charity initiatives, so far, I have recycled over 3.5 tones of plastic wastes and still counting,” Pepple explained.
He reeled out to the pupils several statistics on plastics wastes and why they should support him in his fight to curb the global challenge of proliferation of plastics waste.
Plastic waste, Pepple said, “constitute the greatest environmental waste challenge in the world today as only nine per cent of all plastic produced are recycled,” adding that “plastic waste is one of the major causes of global warning.”
According to Pepple, who described himself as a Waste to Wealth Artist/Recycler, Bead Maker, Animator, Child Rights and Environmental Rights Ambassador/Advocate, Inventor and Philanthropist, up to five trillion disposable plastic bags are used every year with 50 per cent of the total in single use.
He said: “We throw away enough plastic to circle the earth four times every year. Plastic waste is responsible for killing of over one million sea birds and other sea creatures.
“Over 8.3 billion metric tons of plastic waste have gone into the oceans since 1950s, most of this was generated in the last 20 years and only 23 per cent had been recycled.”
On how to tackle plastic waste he proposed waste segregation which he explained would make for easy recycling at the appropriate place and with right method.
He also proposed the 3Rs in plastic waste management entailing reuse, reduce and recycle, explaining that “reuse involves where plastics can be used several times, reduce means reducing consumption of a thing or using an environmental friendly alternative even as recycle means turning what you have to other useful things.”
He charged the pupils that plastics waste management is everybody’s business saying “let’s secure our future; donate plastics to me to fund my charity initiatives”.
In her comments, Head of Administration, Sovina Model School, Elelenwo, Rivers State, Miss Queeneth Nwanekezie, described Master Pepple as very brave, saying she admired him for that.
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