Mission Zero Plastic is an initiative begun by Gideon Olanrewaju in partnership with The Coca-Cola Foundation to simultaneously reduce plastic waste and build schools. Primary education is officially free in Nigeria but over 10 million children do not attend. Gideon is the founder and Chief Executive Director of Aid for Rural Education Access Initiative (AREAi), an organisation running multiple programmes including Education in Bottles, where plastic bottles are recovered, processed, and transformed into school infrastructure. Mission Zero Plastic is one project operating within this programme’s overarching framework, which in turn is only one programme within the AREAi umbrella. Gideon’s partnership with The Coca-Cola Foundation is focused on the recovery stage and has already accomplished much, while the transformation stage has not yet begun.
Gideon credits One Young World for helping to spur Mission Zero Plastic to new heights. They began by collecting plastic bottles and building small structures, but it was at the 2019 Summit that Gideon first heard James Quincy, CEO of Coca-Cola, discuss the problem of plastic. After making introductions, Gideon managed to secure a partnership with The Coca-Cola Foundation to scale the project. The Summit also renewed his sense of purpose and solidified his belief in the potential of private-sector partnerships. Since then, Mission Zero Plastic has organised 600 young people, executed 18 different outreaches and gathered 261 tonnes of plastic waste.
By placing 60 bins in strategic locations around the country, Mission Plastic Zero has successfully reached 600,000 people indirectly. It has reached another million through social media channels, radio, and community outreach. The project has also recruited 120 women as plastic waste collectors and provided them with personal protective equipment and guidance on financial literacy. Mission Zero Plastic has also collaborated extensively with state environmental agencies.
"The One Young Would Summit renewed the sense of purpose that I have and always had when it comes to social impact. It also solidified the belief I had in the potential of private partnerships. The Summit taught me that there is magic in numbers as well."
