According to the group, the ban is long due, which follows the successful ban on styrofoam, reflecting the state’s unwavering commitment to addressing the growing crisis of plastic pollution in Lagos megacity.
The group also recognises the peculiarity of Lagos State as a major producer of SUPs with less than 20 per cent recycling capacity and should necessarily adopt stricter measures to curb the menace.
SRADev Nigeria Executive Director, Dr Leslie Adogame, believed the policy would spur innovation in alternative packaging and provide new opportunities for green businesses to adopt environmentally friendly practices.
“While we look forward to the state’s pragmatic steps to monitoring and enforcement, we remain committed to supporting the state government, communities, and businesses throughout this transition, while ensuring that no one is left behind as we work together towards a greener future.”
While the initial ban on Styrofoam raised concerns from businesses and stakeholders on time adequacy, we believe that enough awareness and consultation with the key stakeholders as well as consistent advocacy for a ‘Just Transition’ has been ongoing for the past four years. “It should be noted that many African cities with lesser severe plastic pollution challenges have taken similar moves in the past 10 years and Lagos State – a mega city, cannot continue to promote the circular economy paradigm and its climate change commitment side by side with the current production and use of SUPs in 2024.
“Therefore, it is imperative and overtly timely for the state government to declare the phase-out of single-use plastics effective from January 2025, to ensure a cleaner and healthier future for all residents of Lagos,” Adogame said.
According to him, “a majority of all the alternatives are available and where the alternatives are not readily available it means there should be no production of such plastics given their danger. A new Global Plastic Treaty is going to be finalised in South Korea by December of which Nigeria is playing an important role and the treaty has a major focus on placing a ban on SUPs.”
Therefore, Nigeria must align with the global community when it comes to SUPs. Single-use plastics are a leading contributor to environmental degradation, littering waterways, choking wildlife, and disrupting ecosystems in Lagos.
“In view of the impact of plastic pollution in Lagos State, the current cost of inaction and overproduction of SUPs has immensely contributed to the over-burdened land resource and waste management infrastructure in the state,” Manager of Programmes, SRADev Nigeria, Mr Victor Fabunmi said.
SRADeV Nigeria and its allies (GAIA Nigeria) stand by the state government to adopt an enforcement strategy that prioritises plastic hotspots from production to use. Extensive aggressive awareness-raising should be mounted in all major plastic hotspots and consumer outlets such as supermarkets, eateries and shopping malls before the end of the year to facilitate immediate voluntary compliance.
