As Europeans fight over gender politics, some parents in the Nigerian capital of Lagos have more immediate concerns, namely finding enough money to cover the fees at their children’s primary school.

For those who live in slums, the right to an education likely sounds like a dead phrase. The African Cleanup Initiative wants to change this. Its RecyclesPay Educational Project calls on parents, some of whom are jobless, to scour the streets for discarded PET bottles and take them to a collection point. There the quantities are registered, sold to a recycler, and the proceeds are used to pay the school fees directly.

This system cuts out industry and consumer associations, nationwide collection systems, and the political largesse of a multinational trading bloc.

Plastics recycling can be simple and effective.