Nigeria tackles waste
ANNOUNCEMENT: STYROFOAM, PLASTIC BAN BRING APPLAUSE, CONCERN
Environmentalists are happy, traders have reservations.
From trash-strewn pavements to street vendors packing meals in polystyrene containers, plastic waste is a constant menace in the urban landscape of Lagos, Nigeria’s economic capital and the continent’s most populous city.
That image could soon change if the local Lagos State government manages to implement its recent ambitious ban on the use of polystyrene and single-use plastics.
Sunday’s announcement of the ban on styrofoam boxes and single-use plastics, “with immediate effect”, by Tokunbo Wahab, the commissioner for environment of Lagos State, took many Lagosians by surprise, especially those living in the informal sector.
“Styrofoam boxes are cheaper than reusable plastic ones,” said Cecilia Mathew, who sells dishes of rice, meat and gari – or cassava flour.
“It does not make sense to put food inside poly bag [plastic bag],” said another food vendor, Funmilayo Oresanya.
For environmentalists, the Lagos State move was a welcome one that could not only cut down on waste but also reduce carbon emissions.
But other critics questioned the feasibility of an immediate ban on such commonly used products, especially for businesses.
“It’s too sudden,” said Kehinde Bakare, a polystyrene box seller.
“There are people that are using it as a means of living so what will they be doing? How about the production people?” she said, asking that they be offered “substitutes”.
Nigerian fast-food chain Food Concepts, known for its popular restaurants Chicken Republic, PieXpress and The Chopbox, “applauded” the measure, saying in a statement this week it was “beginning its transition” to end polystyrene boxes and encouraging its customers “to come with their own containers”.
Folawemi Umunna, cofounder of the NGO, Initiative for Climate and Ecological Protection, said the decision to eliminate nonbiodegradable materials was positive if Lagos State properly manages its action plan.
On his X account, Tokunbo Wahab published a video this week showing health workers carrying out checks in the city.
In 2019, Nigerian MPs passed a law banning plastic bags but it hit a dead end because it did not complete its legislative process. Other African countries have also attempted to ban plastic bags with mixed success.
But in the Lagos megacity of more than 20 million inhabitants, the issue of waste management is key as rubbish regularly blocks sewers and evacuation routes, particularly during the rainy season, causing floods and encouraging the proliferation of mosquitoes, vectors of malaria, in stagnant water.
Nigeria is “Africa’s second-largest importer of plastics”, according to the German Heinrich-Boell Foundation, representing “17% of the total plastic consumption on the continent”, and more than 130 000 tons of plastic ends up in Nigerian waters each year.
If nothing is changed, imports and consumption of plastics will exceed 40 million tons by 2030, its warned in a 2020 report.
Plastic microparticles are ingested by animals and can be found in human beings, Temitope Olawunmi Sogbanmu, eco-toxicologist at the University of Lagos told AFP, pointing to the “nondegradable” nature of these materials.
But if the ban on polystyrene and single-use plastic is “good news” for climate and sustainability, Sogbanmu said she still worries about “the socioeconomic consequences” of this measure on “those whose livelihood depends on this value chain”. –