Mandy Park
Stakeholders in waste management, and environmental experts, on Tuesday urged Nigerians to invest in waste recycling management, especially plastics recovery towards growing a circular economy of the country.
The waste management professionals and development experts included : Ambassador Obuesi Phillips, President/CEO, Lagos Waste Forum, Mr. Ola Oresanya, former Ogun state Environment commissioner, Mrs. Belinda Aderonike Odeneye, Board Chairperson, Lagos waste Forum, Nwamaka Onyemelukwe, Director, PR. Coca-Cola, Dr. Essien Nsuabia, Director-Circular Economy, LAWMA, Dr. Vanessa Lerato Phala, Director, ILO, Country for Nigeria, Ghana, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Liaison office for ECOWAS, among others.
They spoke at the fourth edition of Lagos Waste Forum in Alausa, Ikeja, submitting that Nigerians were yet to unlock the huge potential in the sector.
Speaking at the occasion, Obuesi Phillips, in his opening remarks harped on the on-going transition from traditional linear economy to a more sustainable circular economy with a view to addressing and mitigating the harsh realities of climate change due to pollution.
Said Phillips “” Because we have a shared future, it is now urgently necessary to collectively control pollution through waste management.
” But how do we control pollution and by extension manage waste if there is no collective investment in adaptation and mitigation?.
“”Open conversations, information, and resource sharing as well as sustained advocacy are necessary fertile grounds to drive anticipated investments in pollution control””.
Also, Development expert, and former Commissioner for Environment, Ogun State, Mr Oresanya, said that Nigerians were yet to unlock the economic potentials in plastic waste recycling.
He noted that Nigerians had been traveling outside the country in search of greener pastures while abandoning huge opportunities in plastic recycling, saying that in Ogun State alone, there are a lot of companies which are into plastic recycling manned by Asians, regretting that some Nigerians were merely waste collectors.
Said Oressnya “Asians have taking over recycling in the country whereas our youths are going out in search of jobs.
“In Ogun State alone, there are so many recycling plants which recycle at least 1000 times of wastes daily.
“These are done by Asians who have mastered the art over the years with competence.
“Some Nigerians are just comfortable with being collectors,” .
He harped on the need to increase incentives and the effect on weak regulatory agencies in the management of the sector.
Also, Onyemelukwe in her presentation spoke on the need for citizens to buy into waste management and leverage on the huge opportunities to create wealth.
She said adopting sustainable and inclusive waste management practices by individuals and corporate businesses would create healthier and more resilient communities.
Five organisations namely: Plastibuild creative solutions, Trashcoin, a digital recycling technology, Recyledge, Association of Carbon and Waste Recycling Dealers of Nigeria and Association of Scraps and Waste Pickers of Lagos State (ASWOL) were presented with Award’s for standing tall on competence in waste reduction, management and sustainability.
