…Workshop Urges Ban on Single-Use Plastics by 2025
By Bunmi Yekini
The Pan African Vision for the Environment (PAVE) in collaboration with GAIA, Break Free From Plastics (BFFP), organised a two-day media capacity-building workshop. The workshop which took place on November 28 and 29, 2024, in Lagos was supported by the Global Greengrants Fund (GGF) and focused on tackling Nigeria’s plastic pollution crisis through the lens of the UN Plastic Treaty process.
The workshop, held at the Sweet Sensation Hall and the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) Conference Centre, brought together over 20 journalists from print, electronic, and online platforms. Discussions centered on empowering media practitioners to champion the treaty’s objectives and amplify public awareness of plastic pollution’s devastating health, environmental, and socioeconomic impacts.
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The speakers, Anthony Akpan, Executive Director of PAVE presentation focused on “The Plastic Age.” Philip Jakpor, Executive Director of Renevlyn Development Initiative, presentation was on the role of media in reporting plastic pollution while Victor Fabunmi, Senior Program Officer at SRADev Nigeria, took on “Emerging Plastic Bans in Africa and Nigeria.”
The forum highlighted key challenges, including Nigeria’s ranking as the sixth-largest generator of unmanaged plastic waste, the absence of sufficient data on plastic production and usage, and the slow adoption of the National Policy on Plastic Waste Management.
The event featured goodwill messages from Huub Scheele of the Global Greengrants Fund.
Participants unanimously called for a nationwide ban on single-use plastics by 2025, three years earlier than the current 2028 target, Implementation of the National Policy on Plastic Waste Management, and Increased environmental education and inclusive stakeholder engagement at grassroots levels.
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The workshop emphasized the urgent need for sustainable alternatives to plastics, stricter regulations, and a collaborative approach involving government, civil society, and the media to address the menace.
The event concluded with a call to action for all stakeholders to drive awareness campaigns, enforce regulations, and ensure a just transition for waste pickers and vulnerable communities. The resolutions were endorsed by several environmental organizations, including PAVE, SRADev Nigeria, and RDI.