By Ladi Gbegi
Worried over Nigeria’s escalating plastic waste crisis, environmental experts are calling for a comprehensive overhaul of Nigeria’s plastic waste management system, emphasising the need for sustainable solutions that could unlock more than $16.4 billion economic opportunity.
Agwu Amadi, a Professor Environmental Health at the Federal University of Technology, Owerri, said Nigeria has the potential to turn its growing plastic waste problem into a significant economic opportunity.
Citing a study by Chukwuemeka et al. (2022), Amadi revealed that the conversion of plastic waste into energy and reusable materials could generate more than $493.3 million and $16.4 billion annually with the right management technologies.
The experts, who made the call in an interview with AljazirahNigeria in Abuja, lamented that despite the trillions of naira invested in the last 50 years, these systems have failed to deliver meaningful value.
He noted that with the right approach, Nigeria could generate substantial revenue, create jobs and drive innovation by converting plastic waste into valuable resources.
This is particularly critical given that Nigeria spent approximately $1.7 billion on plastic imports in 2019, according to the UN Comtrade Database.
“Turning plastic waste into energy and materials is a lucrative opportunity that Nigeria cannot afford to miss,”Amadi stated.
He emphasised that by investing in recycling technologies and waste management infrastructure, the country could significantly reduce its dependence on plastic imports, boost export earnings and stimulate job creation.
The plastic waste management industry presents vast opportunities for job creation across various sectors, including waste collection, recycling, processing and manufacturing. Additionally, research and development in this area could foster new technologies and products derived from recycled plastics, further stimulating economic growth.
Amadi explained that this multi-sectoral job creation would promote a circular economy, which aims to minimize waste, while maximizing resources.
“By promoting sustainable waste management practices, Nigeria can reduce its reliance on imported plastics, develop innovative products from recycled materials and increase export earnings,” he said.
However, Amadi cautioned that if the country fails to address its plastic waste problem, the consequences could be dire. Plastic waste currently litters land and waterways, threatening the environment, public health and biodiversity.
Additionally, plastic production and disposal contribute to climate change by emitting harmful greenhouse gases.
To turn the tide, Amadi proposed several solutions, including adopting recycling technologies such as mechanical and chemical recycling, and advanced techniques like pyrolysis and gasification.
He also highlighted waste-to-product technologies, which could convert plastic waste into fuel, electricity and valuable goods like bricks and furniture.
He called on the Nigerian government and the private sector to collaborate by investing in waste management infrastructure, establishing recycling facilities and promoting public-private-partnerships. Policy support for waste reduction, recycling and education on sustainable practices are crucial in driving long-term change.
“By transforming Nigeria’s plastic waste crisis into an economic advantage, we can protect our environment, boost the economy and create a sustainable future,” Amadi concluded.
This development reflects a growing consensus among experts that Nigeria’s waste management challenges demand urgent attention, with private sector innovation playing a vital role in fostering a sustainable and healthier future.
Igwebuike Ijeoma, a global climate change governance expert, also called for a strategic overhaul of the country’s public sector-led waste management system.
According to Ijeoma, who is also Nigeria’s Country Representative for the World Council for Renewable Energy (WCRE) and CEO of Schrodinger Greentech, Nigeria produces over 3.5 million tons of plastic waste annually, surpassing China, revealing its capability to generate $10 billion annually from recycling plastic waste.
He noted that due to an unorganised and unregulated plastic recovery management system, Nigeria is losing billions of dollars in the sector. “The pressure on national and sub-national governments to put an end to plastic pollution as part of their contributions to the implementation of global frameworks to address climate change, reduce pollution and restore biodiversity, is expanding the market for recycled plastics.”
He pointed out that plastic pollution significantly contributes to Nigeria’s national health challenges, including flooding and the outbreak of cholera among other water borne diseases.
The expert also emphasized the direct connection between the subsisting inadequate modern waste management service and the declining public health of over 200 million vulnerable Nigerians.
He noted the correlation between inadequate waste management and these public health risks, stating that, “This crisis contributes to the flooding we are witnessing and the cholera epidemic affecting various parts of Nigeria.”
“When drainages are clogged, even moderate rainfall can lead to severe flooding. It floods communities indiscriminately, making no distinction between those with access to sanitation services and those without. For example, individuals relying on pit latrines are particularly vulnerable, as flooding can contaminate their water supply and sanitation facilities.”
Ijeoma, who quoted Kaltani Recycling Company’s data, revealed that a ton of plastic waste costs around $200 before being processed into more valuable materials that sell for about $1,200, creating a commercial value of about $1,000.
He noted that “Nigeria generates about 3.5 million tons of plastic waste annually with Lagos generating about a third of the country’s burden.
“Assuming the whole 3.5 million tons of plastic waste is recycled annually, we will have an estimated $2.5 billion in commercial value and $10 billion in economic and social benefits annually. With poor data availability, that is the best estimation I can make as an enviropreneur.”
The country representative for WCRE advocated for a sustainable business model and recommended the disaggregation of government’s dual regulator-operator role within the waste management sector.
He argued that this regulator-operator structure is inefficient and hampers meaningful progress in addressing plastic waste crisis in particular and unsustainable waste management in general.
He, however, urged government to shift its focus to regulatory oversight, allowing private sector players to take the lead in waste management.
To attract more investments and mobilize additional resources, Ijeoma stressed the need to adopt innovative business models that integrate Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) consideration with private sector involvement, leading to the sustainability of waste management investments and resource recovery outcomes.
“We need new dynamic systems that do more than just react to crises; we require a framework that catalyzes long-term strategies designed to convert waste into resources, enabling us to achieve Nigeria’s climate goals, including net-zero greenhouse (GHG) emissions by 2060, pledged by the federal government during the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow, Scotland in 2021,” he added.
The board member of UK-based Climate Strategies Think Tank also emphasized the need for a robust framework at the state and local government levels to effectively combat plastic pollution induced by unsustainable waste management anchored on inefficient regulator-operator system.
Drawing inspiration from successful innovative practices in countries with weak governance system, he proposed piloting new homegrown sustainable business models in states, identifying Kano, Abia and Lagos as a testbed for the new models that he recently developed.
Research conducted at the University of Leeds revealed that Nigeria ranks second in the world for plastic pollution, only behind India.
According to a University of Leeds September 4, 2024 publication reported by the Foundation for Investigative Journalism, Nigeria generated 3.5 million tonnes of plastic waste in 2020, behind India which produced 9.3 million tonnes, accounting for approximately one-fifth of the global total of 52 million tonnes.
Nigeria’s unenviable second position in this latest global plastic pollution study -ahead of China’s over one billion people, should ring alarm bells in the decision making sphere.
Indonesia followed closely behind with 3.4 million tonnes, while China, previously identified as the world’s largest polluter, ranked fourth with 2.8 million tonnes due to recent improvement in waste collection and processing.
According to FIJ’s analysis, other notable rankings include Pakistan (5th, 2.6 million tonnes), Bangladesh (6th, 1.7 million tonnes), Russia (7th, 1.7 million tonnes), Brazil (8th, 1.4 million tonnes), Thailand (9th, 1 million tonnes), and the Democratic Republic of Congo (10th, 1 million tonnes).
Utilising Artificial Intelligence (AI), the researchers modeled waste management across 50,000 municipalities worldwide, enabling predictions about global waste generation and its subsequent fate. The findings revealed that over two-third of global plastic pollution arises from uncollected waste, affecting nearly 1.2 billion people—15% of the global population—who lack access to waste collection services.
Each year, approximately 400 million tonnes of plastic is produced, with many items being single-use and difficult to recycle, posing long-term environmental hazards. Some plastics also contain potentially harmful chemical additives that can threaten human health, especially when burned in open environments.
This groundbreaking global inventory offers a crucial baseline for policymakers as they confront an impending environmental crisis, based on solid waste management data gathered from over 500 cities across 172 countries.
Perhaps, this new revelation presents an opportunity for public sector decision-makers to embrace new thinking and abandon the inefficient public sector-led dual regulator-operator roles for private sector innovation in sustainable waste management and resource recovery technologies, and investments.
