By Chuks Oyema-Aziken
The Minister of Environment, Malam Balarabe Abbas Lawal on Thursday restated Nigeria’s commitment to the elimination of plastic waste.
Lawal stated this when he hosted the National Plastic Action Partnership (NPAP) in his office in Abuja.
The NPAP team came to brief the Minister on the Nigeria NPAP and its notable achievements thus far.
The NPAP, with its noble goals, is dedicated to eliminating plastic waste, fostering a circular economy for plastic, reducing plastic leakage into land and water environments, and addressing the broader challenge of plastic waste and pollution.
In March, 2022, at a meeting in Nairobi, Heads of State, Ministers of environment and other representatives from UN Member States endorsed a historic resolution at the UN Environment Assembly (UNEA-5) to End Plastic Pollution and forge an international legally binding agreement by 2024. The resolution addresses the full lifecycle of plastic, including its production, design and disposal.
Nigeria’s NPAP shall work with governments, businesses and civil society to translate plastic pollution commitments into concrete solutions. It aims to address plastic pollution in the country by promoting circular economy practices and collaborating with various stakeholders to take care of plastic waste from production to consumption and reuse.
With about 2.5 million tonnes of plastic waste annually, Nigeria ranks ninth globally among countries with the highest contributions to plastic pollution. Unfortunately, over 88% of the plastic waste generated in Nigeria is not recycled. Instead, much of it ends up in water bodies – rivers, lakes, drains, lagoons and the ocean.
