Recycling · 28 September 2026 · 4 minute read
Sachet water nylon: the small bag with a second life
Every empty sachet is a small square of polythene film. Collected clean, it becomes new nylon. Left in the gutter, it blocks drains for years.
How much we drink
Sachet water is how most of Abeokuta stays hydrated, at home, at work and in traffic. A family of five can empty more than a hundred sachets a week. Most end up in a bin bag, on the roadside or in the gutter.
At our yard, sachet film is one of the largest streams by count, though it weighs very little. About three hundred sachets make a kilo.
Where it goes
Clean sachet film is washed, shredded and melted into pellets by recyclers in Ota. The pellets are made into new nylon bags, buckets and plastic furniture. Dirty film, mixed with food or mud, cannot be used and goes to the dumpsite.
That is why we ask you to shake sachets dry and bundle them, twenty at a time, with a rubber band or one sachet tied around the rest.
Three hundred sachets make a kilo. Clean ones become new nylon.
What it is worth
Our example buyback rate for sachet nylon is ₦100 a kilo. That is not much for one household, but schools and churches that collect after assembly or services fill sacks quickly.
One secondary school in Isale Igbein collected 160 kg in a term and used the money for a new football. Example story for this demo.
Start this week
Keep a small bag by the fridge for empty sachets. When it is full, bundle them and put them in your amber bag on recyclables day. If you are not on a plan, bring them to the yard on Quarry Road on any weekday.
In short
- Shake sachets dry and bundle them
- Clean film becomes new nylon in Ota
- Example rate: ₦100 a kilo
- Schools and churches can sell as a group
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