From Rotten Fruit To Renewable Power: Inside The Lagos Market Turning Waste Into Wealth

For over two decades, pineapple trader Adebisi Olaitan has watched the market evolve. Her fruits are transported from Benin, and by the time they arrive in Lagos, some have already begun to spoil.

“Most of the time, the pineapple I sell comes from Benin and before it gets here it’s already morning, and sometimes some get spoiled,” Olaitan said.

By late afternoon, the familiar scent of ripe pineapples and watermelons hangs over Ikosi Fruit Market in Ketu. 

Traders negotiate with customers while wheelbarrows piled high with bruised fruits weave through narrow paths. For years, whatever could not be sold ended up in waste heaps, attracting flies, producing foul odours and eventually finding its way to landfill.

Today, those same fruits are powering the market.

Behind the bustling market, spoiled fruits once treated as waste are now turned into renewable energy and organic fertiliser. At the heart of this transformation is the Ikosi Fruit Market Biodigester Plant, a Lagos State Government project developed with C40 Cities and supported by UK International Development.

Here, spoiled fruits are collected, washed, shredded and processed in sealed digesters, where microorganisms break them down without oxygen to produce biogas.

For many traders, the project has become more than an environmental initiative; it has changed the rhythm of doing business.

The lighting, Olaitan said, has also improved security. She remembers when darkness descended each evening, forcing traders to pack up early while customers hurried away.

“There have been changes. If it gets towards evening, they turn on the lights for us to see what we are selling.

“It has reduced the rate of theft because before, buyers were afraid to come to the market early in the morning. Now they come without fear. So in that aspect, the government has helped us,” she said.

Still, she hopes the government can build on the initiative by making cooking gas more affordable for traders.

Plant manager engineer Fagbemi Oladele described the process as a practical example of turning waste into wealth. “What we do here is we change waste to energy. Presently, we make use of pineapple and watermelon waste,” he said.

According to him, the methane gas produced is purified and stored before being distributed to food vendors, phone charging businesses and the market’s lighting system.

“Presently, every service we are providing is free. That is for now,” he added, noting that the facility currently operates with eight workers while production depends on the volume of fruit waste collected each day.

Inside the facility, the engineering behind the process is surprisingly straightforward.

System Engineer Samuel Ogebule explained that the shredded fruit mixture is pumped into four digesters, where naturally occurring microorganisms immediately begin breaking it down.

“The system has already been primed. So the moment the substrate enters the digester, anaerobic digestion starts, and gas begins to form,” he said.

Sensors automatically regulate temperature, while pumps continuously mix the material to create the ideal conditions for gas production before the methane is cleaned and distributed throughout the market. For many traders, the impact goes beyond cleaner surroundings.

Watermelon seller Adebimpe Halima said access to electricity has transformed business activities. “When the market had no electricity, there were issues and people’s businesses were not moving. These are perishable goods. Some people need electricity to preserve them, while others need to charge their phones to communicate with customers,” she said.

Halima added that traders can now charge phones, operate refrigerators and access water facilities, describing the project as something few imagined possible a decade ago.

The savings have also reached small business owners. Hameed Orilomo, who operates a POS and phone charging business, said he previously relied on petrol generators, spending between ₦15,000 and ₦20,000 daily.

“Since they introduced renewable energy, it has benefited me well. My charging prices were higher when I used fuel, but now I have reduced them because of the gas,” he said.

In between the facility and the fruit market, food vendor Mariam Morof, popularly known as Bebe Olounje, said the cleaner fuel has reduced her operating costs.

“Since they brought the gas here, it has reduced the amount we spend on gas, and it works much better. It doesn’t produce smoke when you cook, and it keeps the pots clean,” she said.

For the Lagos State Government, the project is about more than providing cheaper energy.

Chief Scientific Officer at the Lagos State Office of Environmental Services, Christopher Orororo, said the initiative addresses one of the city’s biggest environmental concerns by preventing organic waste from ending up in landfills.

“The whole essence of the programme is to tackle the threat of climate change. The waste being generated is no longer going to the dump sites. It is being turned into something beneficial for the market people. It’s more of what you call a circular economy,” he said.

The CSO said the facility generates between 24 and 28 kilowatt-hours of electricity daily, depending on sunlight, while methane from the biodigester powers market lighting, food vendors and phone charging businesses. Even the leftover digestate is converted into bio-fertiliser for farmers.

“Before now, traders paid for this waste to be evacuated. Now we collect it free. Nothing is wasted,” Orororo added.

The project arrives as Lagos grapples with a mounting waste challenge. The state generates between 13,000 and 20,000 metric tonnes of waste every day, with organic waste accounting for a significant share. 

Much of it eventually decomposes in landfills, releasing methane, one of the most potent greenhouse gases driving climate change.

At Ikosi Fruit Market, however, spoiled fruit is no longer simply refuse awaiting disposal. Instead, it is fuelling cookstoves, lighting up market stalls, powering small businesses, and returning to farms as fertiliser.