The Food and Beverage Recycling Alliance (FBRA), in partnership with the Lagos State Government, recently held a two-day workshop, ‘Trash Talk’, aimed at addressing the issue of packaging waste pollution in the state.
The workshop, held in Lagos, engaged stakeholders across the packaging and bottling industries, government agencies, and others to enforce a collective responsibility for addressing packaging waste pollution in the state, by reviewing the state’s present recycling position and defining the next steps to promote a cleaner Lagos.
Themed: ‘Beating Packaging Waste Pollution in Lagos By 2025’, the summit featured a range of educational sessions and speaking engagements led by representatives from the private and public sectors.
Speaking at the event, FBRA’s Chairman, Ziad Maalouf, described the group’s partnership with the Lagos State government for the recycling workshop as a testament to its commitment to a sustainable future with reduced packaging waste pollution.
He expressed the delight of the Alliance at the opportunity to collaborate, learn, and continuously inspire change together within the state of Lagos, and Nigeria as a whole.
“Our goal to beat packaging waste pollution in Lagos by 2025 is one that resonates with our stakeholders and partners. As a collective, we believe our enthusiasm can be spun into action, as we pave the way for a greener, cleaner, and more eco-conscious Nigeria.
Also speaking at the event, the General Manager, Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency (LASEPA), Dr. Dolapo Fasawe stated that ‘Keep Lagos Clean’ has been a consistent mantra for the agency, over the years, noting that the agency’s efforts to promote a community around environmental responsibility in Lagos aligned deeply with the vision and dedication of FBRA.
According to her, the Lagos State government is working with the FBRA to encourage private-sector participation in packaging waste management within Lagos.
“In order to mirror the progress made in countries like Indonesia and Rwanda on waste management, we co-facilitated the Trash Talk workshop to further uncover our collective roles in facilitating our sustainable development, and address the barriers that hinder the adoption of recycling practices amongst communities,” she added.
Commenting further on the goals of the ‘Trash Talk’ Workshop, the Executive Vice Chairman of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC), Mr. Babatunde Irukera, described sustainability as the most important conversation around the globe, presently, since it deals with whether the world will be habitable over a period of time.
He therefore called for a concerted action amongst all stakeholders, such as the regulators, government, civil society, financiers, the private sector and others, whose businesses affect the environment in one way or another.
Some of the participating organizations include the Food and Beverage Recycling Agency (FBRA), Bank of Industry, UNIDO, Seven-Up Bottling Co, Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency (LASEPA), Lagos Business School, National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA), Central Bank of Nigeria, World Bank, Zenith Bank, , Nestle, Nigerian Bottling Company (NBC), Nigerian Breweries, Insight Redefini, and Quadrant MSL, among others.
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