A team of stakeholders comprising journalists and civil society, who gathered from November 28 to 29, 2024, in Lagos at a media capacity building workshop on “Understanding the UN Plastic Treaty Process in Nigeria”, has called on the Federal Government to ban single-use plastic from 2025 as against the current 2028 date as contained in the proposed National Policy on Plastic Waste Management.
The team, which wants government to start with styrofoam, microbeads and carrier bags, claiming that they have no economic or recycling potential, is likewise clamouring for the implementation of the National Policy on Plastic Waste Management, which was adopted and approved by the Federal Executive Council (FEC), and the promulgation of appropriate regulations on plastic waste management.
The group, however, underscored the need for civil society to fill the identified gaps in the proposed National Policy on Plastic Waste Management before its final adoption by the FEC.
At the two-day training organised by the Pan African Vision for the Environment (PAVE), a member of the Global Alliance for Incineration Alternatives (GAIA) and Break Free From Plastics (BFFP) with the support of the Global Greengrants Fund (GGF), to address plastic pollution in Nigeria, participants resolved that the government, civil society and corporate bodies should take the lead to sensitise the general public on the public health implications of plastic waste.
“The effectiveness of the management of plastics in Nigeria requires an inclusive approach which should entail the collaboration of different stakeholders at grassroots level including community, religious and political leaders,” participants submitted in a communique, adding that science, when conducted with integrity and free from external pressures, offers the most reliable insights into the complex challenge of plastic pollution.
The communique was endorsed by Pan African Vision for the Environment (PAVE), Sustainable Research and Action for Environmental Development (SRADev Nigeria), Renevlyn Development Initiative (RDI), Environmental Defenders Network (EDEN) and Citizens Free Service Forum (CFSF).
While underlining the need for referenceable disaggregated data on the quantity of plastic products being manufactured, used and imported in the country, participants called for standard operating procedures/guidelines for the plastic recycling/management sector.
“We support the adoption of the Voluntary Code of Conduct on the Sustainable Use of Plastics in Agriculture at the upcoming Committee on Agriculture of the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) as a policy blueprint for the use of plastics in agriculture,” they stated, calling for a Just Transition for vulnerable communities with special attention to waste pickers and workers in cooperative settings.
Participants also recommended the exploration and promotion of sustainable alternatives to plastic use including the use of rubber; capacity building engagements especially trainings for relevant stakeholders on the plastics pollution issue, with priority on the media; and sustained awareness creation on the impacts of single use plastics including use of traditional rulers and town criers in the rural localities.
They submitted that GAIA Nigeria identified various areas of intervention through which the action plan, including policy and regulation, advocacy/engagement, environmental justice and financial resources is being developed.
The forum brought together over 20 journalists across print, electronic and online media platforms to deliberate on addressing plastic pollution in Nigeria. Goodwill messages were delivered by Huub Scheele of the Global Greengrants Fund and a representative of the Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency (LASEPA), Mrs. Oluwakemi Bankole, Deputy Director, Natural Resources Protection Department.
Presentations were made by Anthony Akpan, Executive Director of PAVE, who spoke on “The Plastic Age”; Philip Jakpor, Executive Director of Renevlyn Development Initiative (RDI), who spoke on “The Role of the Media in Reporting Plastic Pollution”; and Victor Fabunmi, Senior Programme Officer, Sustainable Research and Action for Environmental Development (SRADev Nigeria), who made a presentation on “Emerging Plastic Bans in Africa and Nigeria”.
In his presentation, Fabunmi pointed out that, apart from enforcing bans or restrictions on single-use plastics, such as bags, straws, and cutlery, the authorities should introduce Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) programmes, requiring producers to manage plastic waste throughout its lifecycle, as well as implement tax incentives or subsidies for industries adopting eco-friendly alternatives.
To effectively report plastic waste, Jakpor in his presentation called on participants to leave the comfort of their offices and visit flashpoints, put human faces to stories, speak with experts, emphasise interconnectedness of man and the environment, obtain and simplify statistics, ask probing questions, predict, and amplify solutions.
Akpan, on his part, notes that a Global Plastic Treaty matters because it is an avenue to unlock systemic change away from plastics at pace and scale; an opportunity to create an international framework to address plastic across its lifecycle; it can push the entire petrochemical, plastic and FMCGs (Fast Moving Consumer Goods Companies) industry to shift towards reuse and environmentally sound design; and has the potential to hold all signing countries to a high common minimum standard of action.
After extensive deliberations, the meeting noted that plastic pollution is a global menace throughout its entire lifecycle, with health and environmental implications which includes cancers, endocrine disruption, diabetes, obesity, developmental issues, reproductive dysfunction, and respiratory diseases, among others.
It also expressed concern over the fact that Africa is emerging as the receiver of plastic pollution from the Global North with dire consequences.
Besides empowering journalists as advocates to understanding the UN Plastic Treaty Process in Nigeria, the workshop was aimed at helping to transform the UN Plastic Treaty knowledge into actions for sustainability through knowledge sharing, capacity building and networking in a spirit of partnership based on values and a respect for gender equity, diversity and participatory decision-making.
The objective of the workshop was also to establish a network of journalists to further create awareness on the UN Plastics Treaty and its implementation. The Africa Zero Waste Journalist Network, Nigeria Chapter, thus emerged to galvanise journalists for sustained awareness creation on climate change, zero waste, plastics and electric vehicle batteries, among others.
