Is the Lagos State Government banning plastics for real?

Can you imagine a spaghetti takeout from a Lagos eatery rapped in a cocoyam leaf? However, just know that the taste of the pudding is in the eating, not the rapping.

Globally, plastic waste is increasing at an alarming rate with the increase in human population, rapid economic growth, continuous urbanization, as well as lifestyle changes. This situation poses a waste management problem that sucks huge funds out of government coffers every year to address.

Most of the world's waste plastics are untreated and end up as litter on the streets, in water channels, in landfills or in natural environments that provide a habitat for insects and rodents that may cause different types of diseases.

From the 1950s to 2018, 6.3 billion tonnes of plastics were estimated to be produced worldwide, out of which only 9% were recycled and another 12% incinerated.  (The Economist)

Lagos State, Nigeria’s smallest in area and most populous of 36 states, is experiencing a dire environmental problem with plastics that has taken over its busy streets. 

Aside from overcrowding and chronic debilitating traffic, Lagos is also a plastic trash-filled state, constantly creating increasingly more plastic trash daily than many other Nigerian states combined. 

On Sunday, January 21, 2024, the Lagos State Commissioner for the Environment and Water Resources, Mr Tokunbo Wahab, announced on X (formerly Twitter) the commencement of a permanent ban on styrofoam and other single-use plastics with immediate effect, threatening their producers with heavy fines, and penalties including the sealing of their premises. 

However, on Thursday, he gave a three-week ultimatum after meeting with civil rights activists, stakeholders and manufacturers from the plastic industry.

Nonetheless, many people said the government's policy first hit a dead end when three years ago it failed to complete a legislative process begun by Lagos lawmakers to phase out single-use plastics. 

But then, Mr Wahab specifically cited the daily clogging of the drainage systems due to the menace of indiscriminate use and disposal of the material despite their regular cleanups as the immediate cause of the ban amidst enabling laws which before now were never enforced. 

Public Reactions

The announcement by the government threw Lagos into fuss and gossip. Commuters and market traders sung it all day and on ever since. Advocates and critics alike released a series of press statements and counters expressing their unreserved views regarding the development.

On the one hand, several environment-based groups have hailed the news as a good one, furthering their advocacy for a national ban. 

On the other, critics and some who earn their living from the informal sector kicked against the ban and expressed worry about the financial burden it will have on SMEs and the loss of jobs and means of livelihood for those engaged in the business. 

Reacting, the Minister of State for Environment, Mr Iziaq Salako, commended the ban and urged Nigerians to be prepared for an inevitable country-wide ban. Recall that in 2019, Nigerian lawmakers passed a law banning plastic bags, but not much has been done about it ever since.

Following the ban, consumers and residents have begun to boycott styrofoam packs and single-use plastics since the government release, opting instead for reusable food containers and water bottles for their food and drinks.

Chicken Republic, a fast-food franchise, praised the government’s decision and now urges customers to bring their reusable food containers, adding that there'll be extra charges for plastic packs if they request them.

Mr Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, a political rival to the ruling government, criticised the policy as anti-citizen. He, alongside others however, proposed a phased approach that should include collaboration, education, tax action, recycling, and incentives to make the purpose of the ban work out successfully and alleviate the attendant economic hardship.

Styrofoams, put properly, single-use plastics are non-biodegradable polymer materials that are unsustainable to the environment hence why their proliferation should be curtailed. 

Researchers at Bavijas say phasing out single-use should be seen as a public good with long-term environmental benefits that far outweigh the economic gains enjoyed by those in the plastic business.

***

This article is written by Daniel Bassey & Victor Bassey