Recycling, incineration false solutions to plastic pollution, expert says at UN Plastic Treaty training

The Pan African Vision for the Environment (PAVE), a member of the Global Alliance for Incineration Alternatives (GAIA) and Break Free From Plastics (BFFP) with the support of the Global Greengrants Fund (GGF) has organised a media capacity building training to address plastic pollution in Nigeria through the understanding of the UN Plastic Treaty Process.

The training, held on November 28 and 29 in Lagos, focused on empowering journalists to understand the UN PLASTIC TREATY Process in Nigeria, and help transform knowledge on the UN PLASTIC TREATY into actions for sustainability through knowledge sharing, capacity building and networking.

The speakers at the event included, Anthony Akpan, Executive Director of PAVE, who spoke on “The Plastic Age.” Philip Jakpor, Executive Director of Renevlyn Development Initiative, gave a presentation on “The Role of Media in Reporting the Plastics Pollution” while Victor Fabunmi, Senior Program Officer at SRADev Nigeria, spoke on “Emerging Plastic Bans in Africa and Nigeria.”

In his presentation, Jakpor identified recycling and incineration (waste to energy) as false solutions to plastic pollution. According to him, “Recycling promoted by the industry as a solution but the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Global Plastics Outlook Database records that only 9 percent of plastic ever produced has been recycled, 19 percent incinerated; 50 percent end in landfill; and 22 percent eludes waste management systems and end in dumpsites, open pits or our oceans, rivers, and lakes, or burnt.”

He added “Incineration (Waste to energy) also promoted by the industry wastes more energy than it produces, in the burning process, a range of toxic gases, heavy metals, and particles are released into the air, causing harm when inhaled. For instance, dioxin – a persistent organic pollutants (POPs) released from incinerators take a long time to break down once they are in the environment. They cause cancer.”

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Participants in a communique issued at the end of the training, urged government to ban single-use plastic from 2025 as against the current 2028 date as contained in the proposed National Policy on Plastic Waste Management, starting with styrofoam, microbeads and carrier bags. The government should also speedily implement the National Policy on plastic waste management.

“We enforce that Science when conducted with integrity and free from external pressures, offers the most reliable insights into the complex challenge of plastic pollution.

“Finally, we acknowledge the importance of environmental education in school curricula to increase awareness in future generations.”

“We also call for a Just Transition for vulnerable communities with special attention to waste pickers and workers in cooperative settings,” participants noted in the communique issued at the end of the training.