Recycling, which is one of the many ways of disposing waste, has the potential to create jobs, wealth and healthy environment, environmental activists say.
In Nigeria, waste management is still not effective due, largely, to inadequate investment and lack of capacity. Again, at local, state and federal government levels, institutions that are specifically established for waste management are still lacking.
Unknown to many, wastes are a huge economic resource, especially the plastic waste, which is scattered all over the place. This has a huge economic value and income potential. According to Ola Oresanya, managing director, Globetech Remedial Limited, “plastic collection in Lagos State as of 2015 was at 40 percent; 1kilogram of plastic flakes sells for N187; Lagos generates about 1,048.7 tons daily and this has economic value of about N71.6 billion annually.”
Oresanya, who is a former managing director of Lagos State Waste management Agency (LAWMA), says waste management in Nigeria needs not just investment but also enlightenment and awareness creation.
This is exactly what Food and Beverage Recycling Alliance (FBRA) has been doing since its creation a couple of years ago. Adekunle Olusuyi, FBRA vice chairman, disclosed recently that the alliance has been intensifying awareness on separation of waste and environmental pollution, especially on post-consumer polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles which can further be recycled to other useful products.
Olusuyi, who spoke at the two-day 12th National Stakeholders’ Forum of the National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA) in Abuja, explained that FBRA’s participation in the summit was in line with its commitment to the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) policy of government, to help build a sustainable healthy environment that leads to business growth.
“We are looking at the entire packaging lifecycle – from how bottles and cans are designed and made, to how they are recycled and repurposed. We want to reduce the waste we generate as much as possible, encourage recycling, and our initiatives in this regard has been well tailored to achieving tangible results along with our partners,” he said.
The stakeholders’ forum, which had the theme, ‘Circular Economy and Environmental Governance’, provided a platform for an in-depth discussion and array of issues focusing on the theme as well as critical factors in attaining sustainable development in the national development plan.
It also enabled stakeholders to highlight waste-to-wealth initiatives, review progress in the implementation of the EPR programme, strengthen policies and regulations to enable the recycling of food grade packaging waste materials by establishing a national standards for recycled PET and determine how Producer Responsibility Organisations (PRO) can support waste management for a healthy environment, recycling roles, among others.
The FBRA vice chairman explained further that in a circular economy, proper waste management, which involves different stages, leads to job and wealth creation along the value chain.
He pointed out that recent survey indicates that the volume of post-consumer PET waste was over 800,000 tons, requiring participation of all stakeholders at the different stages to drive a robust circular economy.
“The various roles in waste management start from waste separation, collection which our partner, RecyclePoints, takes care of, to separation, transportation, shredding at the recycling plants, production of other products and re-use. At these stages, different jobs are created, whether directly or indirectly,” Olusuyi said.
