Lagos seeks solution to menace of plastic waste

The Lagos State Government on Tuesday said the time had come to find a lasting solution to the harmful effects of plastic waste across the state.

The state Commissioner for Environment and Water Resources, Mr Tunji Bello, while presenting a draft plastic waste policy to stakeholders on Tuesday at the LCCI Conference Centre, Alausa, Ikeja, said the state must reduce the amount of plastic waste entering the system by sorting at source.

He said Lagos is believed to be generating the highest volume of plastic waste in Nigeria.

“In quantifying the plastic composition of the total waste generated in the state, if we imagine an estimated Lagos population of over 20 million consuming one beverage bottle daily, this will give 365 containers per annum per person giving us a total of 7.3 billion of plastic-packaged beverages consumed annually. The environmental footprint of the plastic waste generated from these could better be imagined,” he added.

According to Bello, plastic pollutes the landfill due to its non-biodegradable nature, clogging the drainage channels with the attendant flooding, and finding its way into the rivers, “thus impacting the health and wellbeing of people, flora, fauna and the environment.”