IN another bold move to redraw the climate change narrative, Lagos State has taken the lead again by giving a new deadline on plastics use. This is after Lagos gave a deadline of January to ban single-use plastics in the state. This needs to be reviewed as the deadline might pose a big challenge to the implementation of the policy.
The government said the ban would come into full implementation by January 2025. It is a laudable initiative considering the deleterious effects of climate change, but it is too sudden for all concerned.
Early in 2024, the administration of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu banned the use of polystyrene (Styrofoam) in the state.
Single-use plastics are disposable plastic products that are typically used once before being discarded. These include Styrofoam plates and cups, straws, cutlery, and plastic bags (especially those less than 40 microns thick. These materials take 500 years to degrade, causing long-term damage to the environment.
Lagos generates between 13,000 and 15,000 metric tonnes of waste daily, with a significant amount coming from SUPs. The ban aims to reduce plastic pollution, which clogs waterways, diminishes air quality, and poses health risks to residents and the ecosystem.
Studies show that microplastics have been found in the human bloodstream, proving the dangers plastics pose to health.
The government said the ban is a critical step toward addressing climate change, improving waste management, and ensuring a healthier environment for current and future generations.
The scenario is grim. Lagos grapples with poor hygiene behaviours and indiscriminate waste disposal habits by residents. Reports state that Lagos generates 870,000 tonnes of plastic and loses N7 billion annually managing waste. Here, used plastics are bad optics: on roads, gutters, and estates, they create an eyesore. Drainage networks are often clogged due to the reckless disposal of non-biodegradable items; roads and markets are littered despite the best efforts of the Lagos State Waste Management Authority.
Although the ban on Styrofoam food containers began in early 2024, the upcoming 2025 ban will extend to other SUPs like straws and thin plastic bags.
The state said it had initiated public awareness campaigns, with the government urging stakeholders and residents to find alternatives to SUPs.
Seeing the challenges posed by SUPs to the environment, it is commendable that the state government has decided to make this bold move.
The only concern is that the government did not give adequate notice before the ban, as it is the best global practice when the government is about to implement a defining policy that affects businesses.
The environmental impact of plastics is daunting. The UN Environment Programme states that there are about 400 million tonnes of plastic waste every year across the world; 36 per cent of those are single-use plastics, and 96 per cent of single-use plastics are produced from fossil fuel.
Microplastics find their way into streams, rivers, and the ocean, disrupting the marine ecosystem; poisoning, choking, starving, and killing marine life and seabirds. Between 79 and 199 million tonnes of plastics are dumped into oceans worldwide. This eventually poses a danger to the consumers of fish and other marine animals.
In Nigeria, consumers of soft drinks find it easier to get those in PET bottles unlike those in glass bottles.
While this is a good move, it will take a while for citizens to get used to this change, and the government must see this as an opportunity to help production companies explore local, natural, and healthy alternatives to polystyrene and single-plastic bottles in food packaging. Paper, leaves, cans, bioplastics, and glass bottles are viable alternatives.
Punch Editorial Board
END
Be the first to comment