“Nigeria’s plastic pollution has reached an alarming scale, with neither urban nor rural areas escaping this blight,” the United Nations (UN) stated in a call for immediate action to combat plastic pollution in Nigeria.
Talking at the 50th Climate Day festivity coordinated by the UN and Green Center point Africa, at the UN House in Abuja, the UN Occupant and Philanthropic Organizer, Mathias Schmale criticized that Nigeria utilizes over 1.5 million metric lots of plastic every year, one of the greatest in Africa.
He also lamented that a lot of this stuff is just for one use, like straws, bottles, and plastic bags. He said that Lagos alone uses 10 million plastic bags every day.
He said: ” Across the nation, waste management remains a challenge. Open dumps, landfills, water bodies, drainage systems, and coastal areas all receive a significant amount of plastic waste. According to the Federal Ministry of the Environment, only 10% of plastic is recycled.
“If we are to achieve the 2030 Agenda and its SDGs, we need to address plastic pollution in Nigeria as soon as possible.”
He made sense of that this anyway is an issue that can be tackled, adding that: ” The UN Environment Program’s most recent report demonstrates that we can cut plastic pollution by 80% by 2040. However, we must act immediately.
“We want cooperative endeavors from all partners – an entire of-society approach – including Government, confidential area, CSOs, and worldwide accomplices to upgrade strategy execution, advance a round economy, and diminish plastic use.
To effectively combat plastic pollution in Nigeria, new technologies and innovative solutions are required. In order to come up with sustainable methods and alternatives to plastic that can only be used once, research and development are absolutely necessary.
Equally significant is raising public awareness of the effects of plastic pollution. Recycling initiatives, clean-up drives, and education campaigns can help us as a society become more wasteful and responsible consumers.
Schmale, who was accompanied by Mohamed Yahya, the UNDP representative in Nigeria, made the assurance that the United Nations will continue to collaborate with its partners in Nigeria to combat plastic pollution.
He said: ” For instance, UNIDO has been assisting the Government in developing its waste management strategy. UNEP is associated with another undertaking called ‘Roundabout and sans pops Plastics in Africa’ which means to decrease diligent natural contaminations from the plastics esteem chain.”
He said: ” The UN lauds the Public authority of Nigeria for assuming a functioning part at the continuous Intergovernmental Discussion Advisory group gatherings for the improvement of this worldwide plastic show.
“We anticipate collaborating closely with the new administration on this and other plastics-related issues. As we collaborate to combat this pollution, the United Nations is prepared to provide financial assistance, capacity building, and technical assistance.
He said: ” Let us not forget that we all have a part to play on World Environment Day 2023. By making choices that are sustainable, we can all take action in our day-to-day lives. We can take immediate action as consumers and individuals to recycle, reuse, reorient, and diversify away from plastics. We can eliminate plastic pollution together.
For a prosperous and peaceful future, “a greener Nigeria and a healthier planet are essential.”
Mr. Henry Bassey, Chief Executive Officer and Founder of GreenHubAfrica, offered his explanation as follows: We are a non-governmental organization that uses media platforms and programs to promote environmental sustainability through education, edutainment, and advocacy. We overhaul, reuse and disperse straightforward projects for better appreciation a familiarity with nearby ecological issues. The objective is to leave the earth better by inciting an outlook shift towards environment activity for a better and reasonable Africa”.
This year’s World Environment Day has as its theme “Solution to plastic pollution.”
