Lagos State government on Tuesday restated its resolve to find a lasting solution to plastic waste. The draft of plastic waste policy was presented before the stakeholders.
While addressing the participants at a one-day stakeholders workshop on the draft policy at LCCI Conference Centre, Alausa, Ikeja, Mr Tunji Bello, the Commissioner for Environment and Water Resources said input of all stakeholders is very important to shape an effective and comprehensive policy that will reduce the effect of waste plastics burden before the policy is enacted.
He said the thrust of the policy will include implementing an Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) which would be aimed at drastically reducing the amount of plastic waste entering the waste stream, by sorting at source.
According to Bello, waste plastic in the environment has been a global problem and man’s relationship with plastic has been shaped by various cultural, social and economic factors.
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He said in Nigeria, plastic waste and its unregulated production is fueling a crisis in the country adding that according to International Centre for Investigative Reporting (ICIR), Nigerians are daily exposed to threats to life by plastic waste which has been found to contain a chemical substance named dioxin.
He explained that ICIR also notes the inability of the Nigerian government to come up with an implementable policy on the management of plastic waste thereby making dump sites the final destination of these non-biodegradable products where they are set on fire.
He informed that the Federal Executive Council has also approved a plastic waste Management policy for the country, adding that environmental management and protection is a concurrent issue based on the provision of section 20 of the Nigerian Constitution.
He stressed that it means both federal and state governments can legislate over the environmental issue, with the state’s legislation further addressing her specific geographical and demographical conditions.
The commissioner said Lagos, is believed to be generating the highest volume of plastic waste in Nigeria and this assumption is based on the state’s contribution to the National GDP, the state population coupled with the standard of living and social status of the state.
“In quantifying the plastic composition of the total waste generated in the state, if we imagine an estimated Lagos population of over 20 million consuming one beverage bottle daily, this will give 365 containers per annum per person giving us a total of 7.3 billion of plastic-packaged beverages consumed annually. The environmental footprint of the plastic waste generated from these could better be imagined,” he said.