NEW OPPORTUNITIES IN OLD CHALLENGES IN WASTE MANAGEMENT IN NIGERIA
Waste management is
critical to achieving the UN’s Sustainable development goals and it is an
established fact that efficient waste management impacts positively on public
health, economy and social well-being of the people but without the appropriate
infrastructure and/or policies in place, waste becomes a menace and a cause of
concern.
In
Nigeria, the exponential growth in population and increased rural to urban
migration has led to an increase in volume of waste generated in cities.
According to the Abuja Environmental Protection Board, the average annual waste
generate in the FCT has increased from 41,000 tonnes in the year 2000 to
245,000 tonnes in 2018. While these numbers may be shocking, it also presents
unique opportunities for businesses to generate wealth.
As
an Environmentalist and a Social Development Expert, I was very excited to work
with the Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) as a member of the Local
Working Committee to organize a Waste to Wealth Roundtable and Exhibition themed
“New Opportunities in Old Problems”. The aim of the roundtable was to address
several issues of urgent national importance concerning waste management
including, but not limited to: the opportunities and challenges in the
operations of waste markets in Nigeria, governance in waste management, and
options for future partnerships in waste management.
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| Ms Adesuwa Obasuyi, Lead Rapporteur |
The
Waste to Wealth Roundtable & Exhibition event held on Tuesday 2nd April
2019 at the Abuja Chamber of Commerce & Industry (ACCI) Convention Centre,
Airport Road, Abuja; in attendance were the Honourable Minister of The Federal
Ministry of Environment, represented; the Honourable Minister of The Federal
Ministry of Science & Technology, represented; the Director General of the
National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA),
represented; President of the Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI);
the President of the Federation of West African Chambers of Commerce and
Industry (FEWACCI), and Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry,
Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA), represented.
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| Guests at the event |
Others
were representatives from the EU Delegation to Nigeria, United
Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), Economic Community of West
African States (ECOWAS), the President of the Waste Management Society of
Nigeria (WAMASON), Embassy representatives (America, Belgium, Hungary, and
Polish Embassies), and other stakeholders from the public and private sectors,
NGOs, and members of the press; summing up a total of 145 participants.
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| Panelists at the first panel session |
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| Panelists at the second panel session |
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| Panelists at the third panel session |
Panelists
& presenters were drawn from public and private sectors, multilateral,
bilateral and civil society organizations; represented entities were: Federal
Ministry of Environment, Federal Ministry of Science and Technology, National
Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA), Abuja
Environmental Protection Board (AEPB), United Nations Industrial Development
Organization (UNIDO), African Development Bank, Federation of West African
Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FEWACCI), Bank of Industry, Japan
International Cooperation Agency, Food and Beverage Recycling Alliance (FBRA),
E-waste Responsibility Organization of Nigeria (EPRON), Chanja Datti Recycling
Company Limited, Sheltercare FM Consults, Sustainable Africa Waste Initiative,
Environmental Expressions Limited, and RecyclePoints Limited.
Africa currently
generates 70 million tonnes of waste which will rise to 160 million by 2025
most of this waste is currently not utilised and they end up in gutters and
drains causing pollution.
In FCT, around 245,000 tonnes of waste was generated in
2018, only 20 – 30% is collected and taken to dumpsites, the rest of it ends up
in roadsides, ditches, drains, water bodies and so on.
Complicated process in getting access to finance from
banks projects in the waste management sector such as recycling, waste to
power, equipment manufacturing, etc. Nigerian investors hardly see waste
management as an investment opportunity.
Waste management in Nigeria is not unsustainable as the
main focus is on waste collection and transportation to dumpsites.
Inadequate collection flow, collectors/aggregators and
recyclers often do not have sufficient feedstock as a result of the complicated
and ineffective waste management system in Nigeria.
Lack of infrastructure to support waste management.
Lack of cooperation from citizenry, largely due to lack
of information and poor regulations.
Inadequate policies around waste management, and the few
policies are not enforced.
Key Recommendations Proposed
Entrepreneurs should become members of the organized
private sector such as the ACCI. The organized private sector is available to
proffer solutions to businesses, provide banking support and represent the
interests of business in governments.
Knowledge sharing as a tool for innovation and ideas,
more Nigerians should be involved in knowledge sharing events such as the Waste
to Wealth Roundtable; additionally the bilateral organizations should involve
more young people in Nigeria in capacity building and creating innovative
solutions around waste management.
Policies and regulations on waste management should be
designed with inputs from the private sector, this will ensure that the
business perspective is factored in and the potential opportunities and gains
identified from the beginning and harnessed.
Stakeholders in the waste management sector have to
improve upon visibility in the media to get attention as there is usually no
news about the sector in the newspapers.
Policies, programmes and efforts should be strategically
designed towards the adoption of an integrated system which is efficient,
sustainable, socially supportive and economically inclusive in the management
of waste in Nigeria.
For waste to wealth initiatives to go beyond where they
are now, relevant Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), and the
organized private sector such as ACCI should form a one stop centre where
people who have ideas can be guided.
The culture of sorting waste should become ingrained in
Nigerian Households. The Local Government Authorities should take the message
of sorting to the doorsteps of Nigerian families and educate them on how to
sort as it makes the collection process and recycling much easier.
There should be a huge sensitization of residents through
the use of the mass media, town hall meetings, house-to-house sensitization and
so on, on the relationship between poor waste management and communicable
diseases as well as the need to sort waste as it makes the collection process
and recycling much easier.
The social enlightenment on waste management must be
consistent and must involve multi-lingua translations, the participation of
religious and traditional leadership as well as relevant civil society
organisations (CSOs) and non-governmental organizations (NGOs).
Incentivize the process of collecting recyclables to
encourage people to take them to collection centers; when the value in
recyclable waste is recognized, less and less will go to dumpsites or end up in
water-bodies.
There should be a planned proper articulation of the
Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) and its benefits along with
sensitization to ensure that the benefits are well understood by members of the
public.
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| A participant asking a question at the event |
Concluding Thoughts
As the lead rapporteur for the event,
it was imperative (as well as advantageous) for me to listen to all comments,
issues, recommendations and so on, that were made during the event and to me,
the Waste to Wealth Roundtable and Exhibition created an opportunity to engage
stakeholders from all over Nigeria and the wealth of knowledge amassed by
participants will be of benefit to Nigeria in the quest to make a headway in
the waste management sector.
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