As part of CGTN's Zero Waste Challenge we asked participants to describe their regular shopping experiences, with a particular eye on waste. What they reported back might help us all understand each other's cultures – and perhaps help save the planet...

Africa: Emmanuel Ojirhevwe in Lagos, Nigeria

Lagos is a world megalopolis: with a population at 23.5 million and rising fast, Nigeria's capital is Africa's biggest city. And it has some suitably large supermarkets… but that doesn't mean everyone has abandoned the traditional markets.

"Lagos has many huge supermarkets, I've gone shopping in some of them," says Emmanuel Ojirhevwe. "Maybe toothpaste and some of those things, we get them from the supermarket because in those places we can see some products we cannot find in the local market, but those supermarkets are some miles away from my house. 

"The difference with local markets is that I get what I want easily. We go about twice a week – they're cheaper and we get most of the things we use and eat every day from them... So I think they're better than supermarkets."

Emmanuel also explains a neat way of reusing materials that's popular in Nigeria: discarded paint pots – known as "paint rubbers" – are cleaned up and taken to market as containers for beans and other produce.

"After the painters are done with the rubber they tend to dispose of them, so we pick them up, wash them and use them to measure the amount of foodstuffs we buy in the market."

This story is part of CGTN's #ZeroWasteChallenge as four people on four continents reveal how sustainable their country's culture is.