舊輪胎,新財富

劉江會

Businesswoman Ifedolapo Runsewe has identified another local resource that brings in money： used car tires.

Runsewe set up the Freetown Waste Management Recycle factory in Ibadan， a city in southwest Nigeria. Workers there turn old tires into material used for paving bricks， floors and other goods that are in high demand in the country.

“Creating something new from something that will otherwise be lying somewhere as waste was part of the motivation，” said Runsewe. Waste removal systems are poor in Nigeria. In villages， towns and cities， large amounts of waste are a common sight. People often burn the waste at night because safer removal methods are not available. Tires are often found among the waste.

The Freetown factory depends on peo?ple who collect old tires from areas where waste is left. They are paid 70 to 100 Naira， or 17 to 24 cents， for each tire. Some tires are also supplied directly by automobile repairmen like Akeem Rasaq. He said he is happy to have found a place where he can make some money from old tires.

Freetown started operations with just four employees.The factory now has 128 workers. So far， more than 100，000 tires have been recycled into everything from speed bumps to soft paving for playgrounds. Houssam Azem is the founder of the Lagos Jet Ski Riders Club. He bought paving bricks from Freetown for a childrens play area.

“It is important to support anybody who recycles used tires in our country，” he said. Azem added， “Taking tires and turning them into what children can play on， I think it is a win?win for everybody.”

What should we learn from Ifedolapo Runsewe according to the text？