WILAT raises alarm over plastic waste pollution in Nigerian waters

The Women in Logistics and Transport (WILAT) has raised the alarm over the increasing rate of plastic pollution in the oceans, calling for proper disposal and recycling of plastic waste to protect the Nigerian marine environment.

WILAT Board of Trustees member and Chairman, Seaport Terminal Operators Association of Nigeria (STOAN), Princess Vicky Haastrup, who made the call during a sensitization campaign organised to commemorate the WILAT Founder’s Day Anniversary in Lagos recently, decried the harmful effect of plastic wastes on human health and aquatic lives, calling on governments at all levels to enact laws banning the single use of plastics in Nigeria to reduce waste.

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“Plastic pollution constitutes a lot of danger to human and aquatic lives. We see heaps of plastics almost all over the place that it seems almost impossible for any government to create a clean environment without handling the issue of plastic waste.

“Just recently, we heard that the Canadian government has developed plans to ban single-use plastics as early as 2021. That is the awareness all over the world. Nigeria should not be an exception. We as women in WILAT are using this opportunity to sensitize the society about the use of plastic.

“It is a serious cause of pollution in our marine environment. It is affecting fishes and when we eat them, it constitutes health hazards to all of us. We are using this opportunity to call on government to look into it as a way of banning some of these plastic products. Industries should begin to look at alternatives ways of packaging water and soft drinks because it is a major cause of health hazard to the marine environment and to all of us and the economy.

“Nigeria should pass it into law. I think is high time we all rise up to this occasion. There should be a law that will regulate the use of plastic. It a major cause of pollution in the environment,” Princess Haastrup said.

Also speaking at the event, the Founder and Global Convener of WILAT, Hajia Aisha Ali-Ibrahim, who doubles as the Port Manager of the Lagos Port Complex, Apapa, said, “We need to sensitize the public on the need for proper recycling so that we can achieve a blue environment. Proper disposal of plastic is actually an area we should focus on if we want development in logistics. We can’t throw things everywhere. We have to recycle and make the environment better and we as women are concerned about this. That is why we decided to take it up.”