CleanUp Initiative take plastic waste and turn it into high-quality interlocking tiles and eco-friendly building blocks.
2024
Year of Fellowship
Yahuza Sani Hudu
Founder and CEO
About CleanUp Initiative
At CleanUp Initiative, we do not just recycle we rebuild. We take plastic waste and turn it into high-quality interlocking tiles and eco-friendly building blocks, providing sustainable housing solutions for displaced communities. Through our web and USSD application, anyone even in areas with no internet can schedule waste pickups and calculate the value of their recyclables. We are proving that sustainability can be accessible, impactful, and life-changing.
About Yahuza Sani Hudu
Yahuza Sani Hudu is an AI engineer, innovator, and passionate advocate for sustainability. Growing up, he saw how plastic waste polluted communities, and he knew something had to change. He was not just going to talk about the problem he was going to build the solution. That is how CleanUp Initiative was born. What started as a simple idea has grown into a movement, transforming plastic waste into affordable, eco-friendly building materials.
His work has earned him recognition from Air Marshal Oladayo Amao (Chief of Air Staff, 2023), the Nigeria Computer Society (2022), and Air Vice Marshal Jemitola Commandant Airforce Institute Of Technology Kaduna (2023), among others. He has been honored for using technology to drive sustainability, proving that innovation can tackle real-world challenges. Beyond his work with CleanUp Initiative, Yahuza believes in the power of young people to create change.
Named one of the 50 Youth Driving SDGs in Nigeria by NGYouthSDGs, he has worked with student leaders across universities like NILEST, ABU Zaria, KASU, and the Airforce Institute of Technology, helping to implement a policy that makes sustainability awareness a key part of student gatherings. For him, it is not just about what we build it is about who we inspire along the way.
One of his proudest moments was receiving an award at The First Faculty of Science International Conference at The Airforce Institute of Technology, Kaduna, endorsed by UNESCO, for his contributions to science and technology. But for Yahuza, awards are not the goal. The real achievement is seeing a cleaner environment, empowered communities, and a future where waste is no longer a problem, but a resource.