Nigeria is perfecting plans to launch its circular economy roadmap, a policy document that will see the country promoting healthier people and a sustainable future.
Developed by the Federal Government in partnership with the European Union, ECOWAS and the Consul General of Netherlands in Lagos, the roadmap will guide the country’s transition and define the roles of both the government, which is to put policies in place to enable the private sector to drive the implementation.
A circular economy is a model of production and consumption, which involves sharing, leasing, reusing, repairing, refurbishing and recycling existing materials and products for as long as possible.
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Speaking at a recent Stakeholders Engagement Review and Workshop on Additional Sectors for Nigeria’s Circular Economy Roadmap organised by Circular Economy Innovation Partnership in Lagos, Olubunmi Olusanya, director of Pollution Control and Environmental Health at the Federal Ministry of Environment, said the plan is to launch the roadmap on March 30th before it will become a public document.
He said for Nigeria to successfully transition from a linear economy to a circular economy where things are reused and recycled, the nation needs to develop a Circular Economy Roadmap.
According to him, an initial roadmap, which was developed and adopted in 2023 covered only three sectors including waste, food system and energy sector.
He said the stakeholders requested the extension of the roadmap to other sectors such as mining, industrial sector, water and construction sectors, which was the reason for the workshop.
He added that adopting a circular economy will lead to sustainable development, create jobs, eliminate waste and lead to efficient use of resources.
On why the Netherlands is partnering with Nigeria, Leonie van der Stijl, deputy consul general and head economic department, Kingdom of the Netherlands in Lagos, said circular economy concerns multiple countries and in a global economy, countries need to work together.
She said the Netherlands is committed to assisting Nigeria with the knowledge needed for the circular economy roadmap with a focus on supporting the Dutch private sector and their Nigerian partners.
Stijl said the Netherlands has an objective to become a fully circular economy by 2050 and to achieve that, there is a need for the Dutch to work with other countries to follow that path which comes with opportunities for jobs, less waste, healthier people, and efficiency.
Defining circular economy, Koen Rademaekers, CEO of Trinomics and chair of Acen Foundation, said it means to reuse, rethink, and recycle.
He said the stakeholder engagement was to bring more sectors on board and to avoid launching a partial roadmap.
Pointing out that Nigeria will finalise the roadmap within a short time, he said, there is a need to put the legislature in place to give security to investors otherwise no investor would want to invest.
“There is a need to clarify mandates, harmonise regulations, ensure more governance, and have an inter-ministerial committee to make this happen. There is also a need for a public-private partnership to raise the finance because most African countries do not have the budget to invest in a circular economy,” he added.
On his part, Muyiwa Gbadegesin, managing director of the Lagos Waste Management Authority (LAWMA), said Lagos generates 13,000 tons of waste daily, and much of it can be a resource that should not be thrown away.
He said Lagos wants to build a framework to develop a circular economy by working with partners such as the Circular Economy Innovation Partnership to create opportunities for people especially the informal waste collectors to be able to do their business more effectively.
He said Lagos also wants to divert organic waste away from the landfill and use it to make compose and biogas inside of burying them underground to contribute to greenhouse emissions and global warming.
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