Participants at the recent inception workshop for inventory and stakeholder mapping for plastic waste organised by BCCC-Africa in Lagos.
The Basel Convention Coordinating Centre for the African Region (BCCC-Africa) has hosted stakeholders in the plastic waste value chain to an inception workshop for a project titled: “Promoting environmentally sound management and control of transboundary trade of plastic waste in Nigeria, through inventory and stakeholder mapping” that is being implemented in Nigeria.
The inception workshop for the project was held on August 10 in Lagos.
It involved stakeholders from the Federal Ministry of Environment, NESREA, the Nigerian Customs Service, National Associations of Plastics Manufacturers and Recyclers, Food and Beverages Recycling Alliance (FBRA), State Waste Management Authorities and States Environmental Protection Agencies.
The project is granted by the Secretariat of the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm (BRS) Conventions under its Small Grants Programme (SGP) on Plastic Waste.
Funding was obtained by the BRS Secretariat from the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad).
The core objectives of the project are to promote environmentally sound management (ESM) of plastic wastes in Nigeria through initial activities that provide solid base and background data for further interventions.
These activities are designed to provide reliable inventory data on local plastic waste generation rate, and plastic waste trade (import/export), for the enhancement of ESM and control of transboundary movement of plastic waste.
Simply put, the project is meant to promote environmentally sound management and control of transboundary trade of plastic waste in Nigeria through inventory and stakeholder mapping.
The project will also establish database of local stakeholders involved in the lifecycle of plastics management in Nigeria with a view to contributing to effective control of transboundary movement, ESM, and tackling of sources of plastic waste.
The project involves the use of a recently-developed toolkit called the BRS-Norad toolkit that is applicable to developing countries such as Nigeria, and is based on material flow analysis.
The data to be generated will be quantitative and qualitative and is expected to include information on plastic waste generation, recycling, disposal, sectorial and regional contributions, exports, imports, polymer types, and so on.
“The value of such data for national planning cannot be underestimated,” said, Mohammed Abdullahi the Federal Minister of Environment at the inception meeting. He was represented by Mrs Toyin Agbenla, a director at the ministry.
“The process will also establish a platform for mapping stakeholders in the plastic waste management sector, and engender networking amongst the stakeholders.
“This is very commendable, as such a platform will provide a readily available list of national plastic waste stakeholders involved in manufacturing, recycling, regulations, enforcement, academia, collection, disposal, and so on. There is no doubt that the resulting networking can cascade into other positive benefits for the nation,” the minister added.
He commended BCCC-Africa “for attracting this project and the Secretariat of the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm (BRS) Conventions for awarding this project to Nigeria.”
Why is this project taking place?
Plastic waste management is an issue globally. In Nigeria, plastic waste is being dumped in drains and river courses, and on coastal lands. There is open burning of plastics within the cities. There is also inadequate legislation on plastic waste. At the core of these challenges surrounding plastic waste is is the lack of inventory data.
Professor Percy Onianwa, the Executive Director of BCCC-Africa, at the workshop said, “We want to generate a national inventory of plastic waste in Nigeria, and also to carry out stakeholder mapping of those involved in plastic management issues in the country.
ALSO READ FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE
“With respect to the inventory of plastic waste, what we will be doing is to estimate the quantity of plastic waste generated within the country and the various components and characteristics of the plastic waste. From what sector are they coming in, what quantity is going into recycling, what quantity is going into landfills or being disposed of indiscriminately, what part of the country is it coming from and so on?
“It is very critical because when we want to manage plastic waste which is a global and national problem, we need to clearly understand the nature of the problem and the magnitude of the problem.
“So the inventory will provide information on this nature and the magnitude which will make planning a lot better. We are creating a foundation upon which other projects will be built to achieve results for eliminating or minimizing this global problem.”
“The two aspects of the project are designed to create a foundation of reliable data and knowledge in order to ensure that bigger projects can come using the initiatives and experiences of stakeholders that we already have identified.”
Need for cooperation
Professor Onianwa expressed certainty over the sustainability of the project beyond a change of government in the country next year. The project is to be completed in one year.
He said, “The data will always be there for technocrats to use; even for people outside the country.”
He, however, called for public cooperation as the project progresses. “It is our responsibility to make Nigerians know that this project is going on. There will be a lot of activities and outreach programmes through the media.
“What we plead is that people will support the work by providing data, and supporting our officers who go out to collect data.
“Then those who are doing work with plastic waste are expected to be on the platform for the stakeholder mapping.”
“We would like them to cooperate and send data to help us build a strong database of stakeholders in plastic waste issues.”
How far the project has progressed
Professor Onianwa said that the project is currently at an early stage. “We have understood the tool we will use for stakeholder mapping. We have deployed consultants to start the initial stages of the stakeholder mapping.
“What we are doing here today is what we call the inception workshop. We are briefing stakeholders on the fact that we have this project we are starting, and then we are asking for buy-in and feedback. We are making them understand the nature of the toolkit and how we designed the project, and then getting them to give us feedback.
“We have seen interesting discussions going on here today are meant to help us improve our project output and ensure good results are achieved.”
Onianwa, a professor of Chemistry at the University of Ibadan, noted that “we will be able to tackle the plastic waste better if we are coordinated in our approach and if all hands are on deck.” This is, he said, is the essence of the stakeholder mapping.
How serious is plastic pollution?
More than 400 different chemicals are currently in use as additives to base polymer in the manufacture of plastics. Most of these are toxic to humans
Not less than 80 per cent of marine litter consists of plastic waste
On January 1, 2021, the plastic waste amendment of the Basel Convention came into force. The amendment brings a large number of plastic groups/types under strict control with respect to transboundary movement
At its fifth session in Nairobi on March 2, 2022, the United Nation Environment Assembly (UNEA) decided to initiate negotiations on a global agreement to end plastic pollution.
Every minute, the equivalent of one garbage truck of plastic is dumped into the oceans, according to United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
Plastic production soared from 2 million tonnes in 1950 to 348 million tonnes in 2017, becoming a global industry valued at US$522.6 billion, and it is expected to double in capacity by 2040, report by the Pew Research Centre noted.
Statistics cited by UNEP have it that approximately 7 billion of the 9.2 billion tonnes of plastic produced from 1950-2017 became plastic waste, ending up in landfills or dumped.
Little wonder that in 2018, the theme for the annual world environment day was “Beat plastic pollution.”
The campaign called for swift action to significantly reduce consumer products made of single-use plastics.
A plastic bottle takes 450 years to decompose, according to an estimate from the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). A plastic cup and a disposal baby diaper also take 450 years to decompose. A nylon bag takes 20 years.
Compare this to six weeks for a newspaper, or two to five weeks for a banana peel.
“Once in the water, plastic never fully biodegrades, but breaks down into smaller and smaller pieces, eventually being dubbed a “microplastic” —something that is less than 5mm long and still able to cause problems for marine life,” the NOAA added.
The agency stated that it is working on several key initiatives, which include the implementation…
World Bank's description of the 2025 budget for Nigeria as being ambitious is in order…
“smacks of favouritism, cronyism, and total disregard for competence and broad-based representation
The Commissioner said he is expected to bring his wealth of experience to bear, being…
The Legislative arm of the Oluyole local government has faulted the allegation of collapse of…
Trump specifically criticised Iran’s handling of its water crisis, blaming what he called a “water…
This website uses cookies.