Nigeria needs to tackle plastic pollution

PLASTIC pollution has become a real monstrosity in Nigeria. The urban centres are littered with single-use plastics and other plastic products; the rural areas are also burdened with plastic waste. This constitutes an eyesore on the landscape, degrades the environment, and clogs the drainage. It is concerning. The local, state, and federal governments should urgently deploy comprehensive and actionable policies to reduce indiscriminate plastic disposal in the country.

Reminding Nigeria of the impact of plastic pollution afresh, the United States Agency for International Development said recently that Africa’s most populous country is the ninth-highest contributor to plastic pollution globally. The country contributes 2.5 million tonnes of plastic waste annually while 88 per cent is not recycled. This is colossal.

According to the Mismanaged Waste Index 2024 by the World Population Review, Nigeria’s plastic waste status is “very high.” The country is credited with 4.5 per cent of the global plastic consumption rate. It imports 960,000 tonnes of plastics, produces 935,800 tonnes, and releases 27,685 tonnes of plastic waste into its waterways. It shares the damaging profile with India (7.4 million tonnes), Thailand (3.4MT), Iran (1.3MT), Kazakhstan (1.2MT), United Arab Emirates (1.1MT), and South Africa (1.0MT).

USAID’s Mission Director to Nigeria, Melissa Jones, lamented that the excess plastic waste threatens the ecosystem, marine life, and public health. She advised that recycling would help reduce demand for new raw materials for plastic production, limit the energy-intensive process of producing plastics by 90 per cent, and reduce greenhouse emissions by 25 per cent.

Jones explained that the recycling value chain, from collection, sorting, aggregating, processing, and manufacturing could provide jobs and sustainable income for residents.

Nigeria’s plastic waste outlook is disturbing. Due to rapid urbanisation and high rural-urban migration, cities like Lagos, Port Harcourt, and Abuja are strewn with plastics, including sachet water nylons, plastic bags, and Styrofoam food packaging. This culture has crept into national life due to the convenience and affordability of plastic packages. In addition, SMEs and local and multinational companies across the manufacturing spectrum use plastic containers to package their products.

The menace is compounded by improper waste disposal systems. Most states lack seamless and efficient waste disposal structures; many citizens are nonchalant; uncooperative, or unaware of a sustainable waste disposal culture. Many Nigerians dump their refuse in open spaces, flowing gutters, streams or by burning. This results in flooding in the rainy season and contaminated water sources. Burning engenders a toxic atmosphere, respiratory illnesses, and skin diseases.

In rural areas, plastic contamination takes a toll on the agricultural verve of farmers and fishermen. While Nigeria’s food security is threatened, its tourism potential is also sabotaged by plastic waste. Microplastics lead to the disruption of life cycles, early death, and extinction of marine life, and farmers may begin to experience rapid soil degradation.

Health experts posit that plastic waste could lead to serious health issues such as endocrine disruption, weight gain, insulin resistance, infertility, and cancer. Microplastics in the body could lead to inflammation, genotoxicity, oxidative stress, and apoptosis. It may also lead to necrosis, cardiovascular diseases, inflammatory bowel disease, diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, stroke, and auto-immune conditions.

Therefore, the government should engage NGOs, community leaders, and corporate stakeholders to arrest the menace. Environmental NGOs should intensify their role in sensitising the public to the need to salvage and preserve the environment.

While NGOs must drive behavioural change programmes, state governments should launch and enforce environmentally friendly policies. Universities and research centres should explore productive ways to recycle plastic waste for various industries including fashion, furniture and interior design, and the motor and construction industries.

The government’s policies should encourage manufacturing companies to produce recyclable plastics instead of non-recyclable ones. The frequency of manufacturing new plastics should be curbed through innovative policies.

States should take a leaf from the book of the Lagos State Government, which took the laudable lead to ban Styrofoam and single-plastic use early this year. Oyo State has also announced a ban on single-use plastics.

Although this policy is germane, states must seek and provide viable alternatives to single-use plastics and the ‘sachet’ economy. The enforcement of environmental laws should not be a knee-jerk approach; states should employ strategies to constantly sensitise, incentivise, and cultivate a sustainable waste management culture. Alternatives like edible leaves, bottles, and tin cans should be revitalised.

The UN states that plastic waste takes 20 to 500 years to decompose into microplastics. It never totally degrades. It said 8.3 billion tonnes of plastic had been produced in the last 13 years. Out of the 8.3bt, only 12 per cent has been incinerated, 9.0 per cent recycled and the rest deposited in landfills and waterways.

At 81 per cent, Asia is the largest contributor to the global plastics pollution menace.

Plastic pollution poses significant risks to marine ecosystems, wildlife, and human health. Fish can ingest or become entangled in plastic debris, leading to injury, suffocation, and death. Furthermore, plastics can leak harmful chemicals into the environment, threatening water quality and ecosystem health. The Ellen MacArthur Foundation estimates that by 2050 there could be more plastics than fish (by weight) in the world’s oceans if the current trends continue.

The Environmental Science & Technology estimates that there are between 15 to 51 trillion microplastic particles in the world’s oceans, weighing between 93,000 to 236,000 metric tonnes.

The economic costs associated with plastic pollution are substantial. The Pew Charitable Trusts and SYSTEMIQ estimated that the cost of plastic pollution to marine ecosystems could reach $2.5 trillion by 2050.

To mitigate this, Nigeria must explore the models that Rwanda, Kenya, Denmark, Taiwan, and Germany deployed to reduce plastic waste. Rwanda implemented a strict and well-entrenched ban on single-use plastics there in 2008. It activated fines and penalties for violators. After launching a widespread public awareness campaign, the Rwandan government provided alternatives to plastic use by investing in alternative packaging solutions such as paper bags and other biodegradable materials.

Kenya followed suit in 2017 by banning the manufacture, and importation of single-use plastics. Although plastic waste remains very high in these African countries, they have started making some progress.

Elsewhere, Germany, Denmark, and Taiwan have a “very low” MWI. They have implemented extensive reforms on waste reduction, prevention, recycling, and circular economy principles. Apart from providing biodegradable alternatives, manufacturers in Denmark are responsible for collecting and recycling their products through an extended producer responsibility programme. Germany has a dual waste collection system that engenders the separation and recycling of organic and non-organic wastes. It provides a “Deposit Refund Scheme” that rewards responsible waste disposal recycling.

States in Nigeria need to incentivise both manufacturing and recycling companies to invest in recycling facilities and systems. Persons and SMEs involved in sustainable waste disposal should be boosted with financing packages. This will provide a wide range of employment and income streams for many unemployed youths while deescalating the production of new plastics.

Nigeria should prioritise safeguarding the environment over pecuniary manufacturing gains.