The Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives, a multinational network dedicated to achieving a waste-free future without incineration, has urged the Nigerian government to prohibit single-use plastics in order to effectively curb the surge in plastic pollution.
The Punch reported that it made the announcement in Abuja at the INC-2 stakeholder’s engagement workshop, which also included representatives from the sector’s operators and the Federal Ministry of Environment.
The UN Environment Programme’s INC is the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Plastic Pollution. Its main objective is to assist in managing all aspects of the production, design, and disposal of plastics.
The workshop’s focus was “Nigeria Plastic Treaty Post INC-2 Debriefing,” and the Nigerian GAIA Clean Energy Campaigner, Weyinmi Okotie, spoke at the event.
“Plastics in general aren’t the problem; it’s those plastics that you use once and then throw away. We are requesting a ban on certain plastics, as well as a means of reducing the manufacture of plastics in general.
“This is because if output volume is this high, Nigeria’s system will be overwhelmed. Alarming levels of plastic pollution are spreading across the nation.”
According to him, “We must avoid the importation of plastic pollution and its related harmful burden in order to achieve environmentally just and sustainable waste management.
“Nigeria needs to push for the creation of an extensive system for tracking the trade in plastics. Promote investigation into the issue and aggressive policy implementation to phase out single-use plastics.
According to a senior official at the Centre for Earth Work, Benson Fasanya, Nigerians squander 60 million water sachets on average every day, which significantly contributes to pollution in the entire nation.
He claimed that despite having some of the best recycling technology in the world, America has only recycled 9% of the world’s plastic waste since it first became a problem decades ago.
“It follows that we are unable to manage this by increasing their recycling content because it will not solve the problem. Rather we need to reduce the production of plastics.”
