A few years ago, scrap collection in Nigeria was mostly dismissed as roadside hustling. Today, it has become one of the country’s fastest-growing informal industries, quietly powering steel production, creating jobs and turning discarded metal into serious money.

Across cities like Lagos, Kano, Onitsha, Aba and Port Harcourt, scrap yards have become major supply points for manufacturing companies that rely heavily on recycled metals to keep production running. From abandoned vehicles and damaged electronics to old roofing sheets, iron rods and industrial waste, materials once considered useless are now feeding a recycling economy worth billions of naira.

The shift has been driven by a combination of economic pressure, rising global demand for recyclable metals and Nigeria’s struggling steel sector.

According to industry estimates cited by the National Association of Scrap and Waste Dealers Employers of Nigeria, the country’s scrap industry is now valued at about ₦200 billion. Reports also show that high-grade scrap metals can sell for as much as ₦750,000 to ₦800,000 per tonne, depending on quality and market conditions.

For thousands of Nigerians dealing with unemployment and rising living costs, the business has become more than a side income; it is now a full economic ecosystem.

Nigeria’s steel industry relies heavily on scrap metal

One of the biggest reasons the scrap trade has expanded rapidly is Nigeria’s dependence on recycled metals for local steel production.

Despite having large iron ore deposits, Nigeria’s steel industry has struggled for decades due to the underperformance of major facilities like Ajaokuta Steel Company and Delta Steel Company. As a result, many steel manufacturers now depend heavily on scrap materials instead of processed iron ore.

Research on Nigeria’s recycling sector estimates that between 80 and 95 percent of the country’s steel production comes from scrap metal. Steel rolling mills across Ogun, Lagos, Kano and other industrial hubs regularly purchase tonnes of recycled iron and aluminium from dealers and aggregators.

Globally, recycled steel is becoming more valuable because it is cheaper and requires less energy to process compared to producing steel from raw materials. Electric arc furnaces, commonly used in recycling-based steel production, have become increasingly important in global low-carbon manufacturing strategies.

That global demand is influencing prices locally and making scrap collection more profitable in Nigeria.

The people building businesses from waste

Behind the industry are thousands of informal workers who collect, sort and transport scrap daily.

In major Nigerian cities, scrap trading has evolved into a highly organised chain involving street collectors, middlemen, warehouse operators and industrial buyers. Some traders specialise in copper because of its high resale value, while others focus on aluminium, iron or used batteries.

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The trade has also become a major source of employment for young people without formal jobs.

In scrapyards scattered across parts of the country, trucks arrive daily carrying materials sourced from construction sites, demolished buildings, mechanic workshops and household waste. Dealers weigh, separate and resell materials to factories or exporters.

But the industry’s growth has also raised concerns.

Security agencies have repeatedly linked parts of the scrap market to the vandalism of public infrastructure, including stolen electricity cables, railway components and manhole covers. In several states, authorities have introduced tighter monitoring of scrap transactions following incidents involving the destruction of government property.

At the same time, many workers in the sector still operate under risky conditions with little regulation or safety protection.

Why Nigeria’s scrap economy is getting harder to ignore

What makes the scrap trade important is not just the money changing hands, but what it reveals about Nigeria’s wider economy.

The industry reflects how millions of Nigerians are creating livelihoods in difficult economic conditions while also filling industrial gaps left by weak manufacturing systems and underperforming infrastructure.

It also shows how recycling is becoming increasingly important to the future of global production.

According to the World Steel Association, recycled steel significantly reduces carbon emissions and energy consumption compared to traditional steelmaking methods. That shift has increased global competition for scrap materials, making recyclable metals more economically valuable than ever before.

In Nigeria, that global trend is meeting local reality.

What was once seen as waste scattered across roadsides and dumpsites has become a raw material feeding factories, supporting livelihoods and driving an expanding informal economy.

For many Nigerians, old iron is no longer junk; it is business.

Cynthia Nwanonyiri