Executive Director, Prentice Foundation for Sustainable Environment and Education, (PFSEE), Austin Igwe, has called for a joint effort to end the damaging environmental impact environmental harm caused by Single-Use Plastics, (SUP), by adopting Plastic Alternative Containers, (PAC), which are environmentally friendly.

He said single-use plastics pose health and environmental danger to society due to their toxic degradation nature as opposed to alternative containers which are biodegradable, made from tees, and recyclable.
 
Speaking at the launch of a brand of plastic alternative containers with the theme: Building a Sustainable Environment: Challenges, Opportunities, and Strategic Partnerships, in Abuja, Igwe said “PAC is an initiative we came up with to combat the challenges associated with single-use plastics that are the norm.
 
“The plastic alternative container is to replace single-use plastics in malls, in markets, and, you know several other places. And with that, it will also help us reduce the challenges associated with it like health-related challenges and the likes. There have been lots of advocacy about single-use plastics in Nigeria, particularly.”
 
He said the objective of his foundation is to plant 10 million economic trees across the six geopolitical zones to promote environmental friendliness develop strategic partnerships with relevant government agencies, eradicate gender inequalities, and promote zero illiteracy while helping in reducing the high illiteracy levels among children and youths in Nigeria schools among others.
 
The group insisted that environmental sustainability is everybody’s responsibility including the government, and private sector adding that beyond the advocacies to the government to change policies or come up with legislations, there was a need to take a step in enlightening the public as well.
 
“So this is our way of advocating for a change not to just tell the government to put policies in place or ban the use of single-use plastics but also coming up with biodegradable, 100 per cent recyclable materials, 100 per cent degradable materials to replace the non-degradable ones that we see around,” he said.
 
“That’s part of our way of advocating for change. It is beyond talking to the government. We’re talking, yes, others are talking, but we want to take a step.”
 
On the availability and accessibility of the launched packs, he said, “There are free packs for the public, packs with no profits attached among others so from partnerships and collaboration, we produce these packs and distribute them for free. And then certain parks are also produced and sold to users or the market people at the cost of production.”
 
Speaking on the possibility of banning single-use plastic in Nigeria, Igwe said the foundation was optimistic it could be done but only with the provision of plastic alternatives.
 
“We are saying that beyond banning, let’s have an alternative, and we believe that if the initiative is adopted by the government, it makes it easier for the people to listen. We will always need materials to carry things, all right. So, if we don’t have alternatives, banning it will not be very effective,” he noted.
 
Programme Manager, Energy and Circular Economy at the European Union delegation to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Godfrey Ogbemudia, in his paper presentation tagged ‘Driving Sustainability: The Role of Citizens and Manufacturers in Shaping Plastic Policy’, said that only 9% of plastic waste is recycled.
 
He pointed out that “The annual production of plastics and the generation of plastic waste having doubled in less than 20 years, only 9 % of plastic waste is recycled, 19 % is incinerated and almost 50 % is ending up in sanitary landfills. The remaining 22% is disposed of in uncontrolled dumpsites, burned in open pits or leaked into the environment.
 
“These unsustainable consumption and production patterns, leading to a huge waste of resources caused among others by the mismanagement of plastic waste, have caused a global plastic pollution crisis which needs to be tackled urgently beyond existing initiatives.
 
He recalled that the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA-5.2) in March 2022 alongside Heads of State, environment ministers, and other representatives from 175 nations agreed on a mandate to create an international legally binding instrument to end plastic pollution due to its hazardous nature
 
He stressed the need to control the production of SUP and adopt PAC saying “It is important that manufacturers align with policy directives of government in this case of plastic waste, use alternative materials for the production of plastic packaging or product in such a way to remain in business and at the same time be environmentally compliant.”