On September 26, 2025, the streets of Epe were told a new story. The story of one of schoolchildren learning to compost and that of market women beginning to see fruit waste as more than just trash. These stories were powered by members of the Zero Waste Ambassadors (ZeWA), an initiative set up by Community Development Advocacy Foundation (CODAF) under the Multi-Solving Action for Methane Reduction in Nigeria Project.

At Army Children High School, ZeWA team sat with over 50 bright-eyed students and their teachers. The conversation was simple but powerful: refuse what you don’t need, reduce what you use, reuse what you can, recycle what’s left, and dispose of it responsibly. “Waste is not waste until we waste it,” CODAF’s Assistant Project Officer, Raphael Oniovo, told the students. The session ended with excitement as a Zero Waste Club was formed and a plan agreed to turn organic waste from their homes into compost for a new school garden. The principal, Mrs. Erinle, could not hide her joy, while describing the initiative as a gift to both the children and their environment.

 That same day, just a few minutes away, ZeWA was in the heart of the Epe Fruit Market, where traders hustle daily to sell bananas, pineapples, cucumbers, and oranges. Here, piles of discarded fruit often rot away, suspected to be releasing harmful methane into the environment. But the discussion with the traders took a different turn: what if this waste could be collected and sent to the CODAF’s constructed Material Recovery Facility (MRF) nearby to become compost? ZeWA Secretary, Mrs. Simbia Adepoju, shared the vision while the coordinator, Mr. Temitope Lawal, explained how the MRF works. Market leaders listened keenly and promised to take the message to their next union meeting. As Alhajia Kawojue, Vice President of the market, put it: “This will make our market cleaner, and that is good for business.”

From the laughter on the faces of the schoolchildren to the nods and amazements of the market women, Epe people are beginning to weave a zero-waste culture into their daily lives. CODAF and its Zero Waste Ambassadors are showing that tackling climate change is not an abstract fight  but it is about composting in your backyard, keeping your stall clean, and teaching the next generation to value what we have. These were the lessons learned from working with schools and markets.