As Africa’s largest nation, joins the struggle to eliminate single-use plastics, Printrite Foundation for Sustainable Environment and Education (PFSEE) launched the Plastic Alternative Container, PAC yesterday in Abuja.
Austin Igwe, PFSEE executive director, said the idea behind PAC is to encourage supermarkets, restaurants, and medicine stores to use plastic alternative containers instead of the single-use plastic that is the norm.
Speaking with Journalists at the launch which was held with the theme: Building A Sustainable Environment: Challenges, Opportunities and Strategic Partnerships, the executive director said” PAC is an initiative we came up with to combat the challenges associated with single-use plastics”
The foundation informed that the PFSEE objective is to “Plant 10 million economic trees across the six geopolitical zones to promote environmental friendliness develop strategic partnerships with relevant government agencies, eradicate gender inequalities and promote zero illiteracy and help in reducing the high illiteracy levels among children and youths in Nigeria schools among others”
According to Igwe “The plastic alternative containers is to replace single-use plastics in malls, in markets, and, you know, several other places. And with that, it will also help us reduce, you know, the challenges associated with it, like health-related challenges and their lives. There have been lots of advocacy about single-use plastics in Nigeria, particularly”.
He emphasized that environmental sustainability is everybody’s responsibility including the government, and private sector, adding that beyond the advocacies to the government, to change policies or come up with legislations, there was a need to take a step.
“So this is our way of advocating for a change, not to just tell the government to put policies in place or ban the use of single-use plastics, but also, coming up with biodegradable, 100 per cent recyclable materials, 100 per cent degradable materials to replace the non-degradable ones that we see around. That’s part of our way of advocating for change. It is beyond talking to the government. We’re talking, yes, others are talking, but we want to take a step.
On the availability and accessibility of the launched packs, Igwe said “There are free packs for the public, packs with no profits attached among others, so from partnerships and collaboration, we produce these packs and distribute them for free. And then certain parks are also produced and sold to, users or the market people at the cost of production”.
Speaking on the possibility of banning single-use plastic in Nigeria, Igwe was optimistic it could be done but only with the provision of plastic alternatives.
“We are saying that beyond banning, let’s have an alternative, and we believe that if the initiative is adopted by the government, it makes it easier for the people to listen. We will always need materials to carry things, all right. So, if we don’t have alternatives, banning it will not be very effective”
In his keynote address titled Driving Sustainability: The Role of Citizens and Manufacturers in Shaping Plastic Policy, Godfrey Ogbemudia, Programme Manager, Energy and Circular Economy at the European Union delegation to Nigeria and ECOWAS, noted that only 9% of plastic waste is recycled.
In his words “The annual production of plastics and the generation of plastic waste having doubled in less than 20 years, only 9 % of plastic waste is recycled, 19 % is incinerated and almost 50 % is ending up in sanitary landfills. The remaining 22% is disposed of in uncontrolled dumpsites, burned in open pits or leaked into the environment.
“These unsustainable consumption and production patterns, leading to a huge waste of resources caused among others by the mismanagement of plastic waste, have caused a global plastic pollution crisis which needs to be tackled urgently beyond existing initiatives.
He recalled that after the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA-5.2) in March 2022, heads of State, environment ministers, and other representatives from 175 nations agreed on a mandate to create an international legally binding instrument to end plastic pollution.
He stressed the need to control the production of SUP and adopt PAC
“It is important that manufacturers align with policy directives of government in this case of plastic waste, use alternative materials for the production of plastic packaging or product in such a way to remain in business and at the same time be environmentally compliant,” he said
The PFSEE a registered non-profit organization was solely established to tackle and proffer solutions to the prevailing Educational and Environmental Problems and their attendant consequences. It has several initiatives including zero illiteracy, building awareness on Sexual Gender Based Violence, I Plant a Tree and I Get a Book all aimed at fostering an eco-friendly and sustainable environment
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