BEFORE NIGERIA DROWNS IN PLASTIC POLLUTION

The United Nations’ State of Plastics report predicts that by 2050, there will be about 12 billion tonnes of plastic litter in landfills and the environment if current consumption patterns and waste management practices continue. In a lot of towns and cities in Nigeria, one can hardly walk along the streets without seeing heaps of waste filled with “nylon” bags, pet bottles, bottle covers, food wrappers and other forms of plastic waste. The use of plastic bottles and bags to sell food, water, beverages, in packaging and so on, has more than doubled in Nigeria over the past ten years. According to EUROMAP, imports of plastic raw materials into Nigeria have increased annually by 7.2% since 2008 and per capita consumption of plastics has grown by about 5% annually while plastics production has grown annually by 13%.

Waste from a roadside dumpsite in Nigeria

Plastics have been accumulating in our environment, posing a serious threat to health and contributing to climate change; sadly more than 50% of these plastics are used once before being disposed of and it is worthy to state here that apart from the hampering life on land, a lot of the plastic waste can be found along the banks of rivers and in water bodies all over the country where they get into the food chain, harm marine life and also reduce the aesthetic value of the aquatic ecosystem.

Plastics have been found buried deep in the soil, in food and even water supply systems, a number of organisms have been known to unintentionally ingest plastic and the public health consequences are detrimental, the impact on extinction is not left out – it is believed that 700 marine species could go extinct in the next couple of years if the plastic pollution menace continues unchecked. The problem of plastic waste in Nigeria keeps rising every year; of the over thirty-two million tonnes of waste generated annually according to the Waste Management Society of Nigeria, plastic waste accounts for over 15% and these statistics are projected to become higher in the coming years as a result of population growth, urbanisation and increased access to commercial goods.

The plastic menace

For the plastic pollution problem to be addressed, Nigeria must be prepared to face the problem head-on. A good start will be to reduce (or put an end to) single-use plastic materials like straws, nylon bags, cutleries, product packaging and so on. The Nigerian government needs to ensure that waste separation at source is implemented and made compulsory for waste generators to encourage recycling and discourage littering, doing this will strengthen recycling and recovery systems, reduce waste sent to dumpsites, and eliminate waste scavenging and the attendant health problems arising from the activities of scavengers.

Some of these plastics provide easy solutions which are necessary; reducing single-use plastic involves placing a nationwide ban on them but eco-friendly and cost-efficient alternatives will have to be researched and introduced before these bans are imposed, the manufacturers of these products should also be made to adopt and accept the new alternatives to ensure effectiveness and cooperation. An example is the case of single-use plastic water nylons and water bottles which provide access to clean and affordable water in a lot of African countries, banning it will require setting up locations in public places for people who will normally buy “pure water” or “bottled water” to get access to clean drinkable water for one-stop drinks or refilling water cans.

Plastics used for product packaging provides protection but at times, using them comes at high environmental costs and there is always room for improvement in a safe way that also makes economic sense to the society. To enhance the process of recycling and recovery, product design should be looked into. For example, plastic recycling basically entails fragmenting, melting and shaping the plastic into new forms – chemicals added for colour, to make sure the plastics last longer and enhance flexibility can end up making the recycling process complicated; a solution to this will be to take a leaf from Japan where polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles are made transparent making them easier to recycle. Nigerian manufacturing industry researchers should focus on improving designs and developing technologies which will enable products or packaging to be produced with much less material without the functionality being compromised and also work on the recyclability of the plastics. Providing solutions like this will help improve resource efficiency, reduce waste and environmental impacts.

Pellets from a recycling company in Nigeria

In Nigeria, only a small percentage of the plastic waste generated is recycled, which speaks volumes about the waste management system here, presenting the need to further develop the recycling capacity to higher standards particularly now that China (the largest importer of plastic waste since 1992) has stopped accepting waste. The recycling culture has to be improved upon and made a norm to breed dynamism, save resources and landfill space, and improve standards of living. Improving waste management, reducing the rate of single-use plastic and increasing recycling and recovery rates will greatly lessen the threats posed by plastic pollution.