A renowned environmentalist, Mr Nnimmo Bassey, has advocated imposition of pollution tax on top plastic polluters in Nigeria.
Bassey, the Director Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF), made the advocacy on Wednesday, October 4, 2023, in an interview in Benin City, the Edo State capital.
He said that imposition of the tax would reduce environmental pollution.
Bassey said that plastic waste was destroying biodiversity, as fishes and animals ate or swallowed plastics, mistaking them for food.
“There is a museum in Bergen, Norway, displaying plastics recovered from the belly of one whale.
“We have heard that if we don’t move away from plastics, there will be more plastics than fishes in the ocean by 2050.
“Plastics are convenient ways for some companies to elongate the lives of their industry,” he said.
The environmentalist said that some plastic products could last for more than 500 years before degrading.
He regretted that dependence on plastics was also contributing to climate change.
“Nigeria should ban single-use plastics. We should have shopping bags that can be reused.
“Recycling should be encouraged although only about 10 per cent of plastics are recycled in the world.
“Accessible and available public water supply would help to stop dependence on sachet or bottled water,” Bassey said.
He said that plastic products were easy to use but difficult to get rid of.
By Usman Aliyu
