The Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, is enlisting the help of the populace to handle plastic garbage properly in the city as part of his mission to build a safer, cleaner, and healthier environment.
The governor, who was represented by Mr. Ibrahim Odumboni, the Managing Director of the Lagos garbage Management Authority (LAWMA), outlined the national and international issues associated with the improper management of plastic garbage that ends up in sewers, rivers, and the ocean, claiming that these issues constituted a threat to mankind.
At a celebration for World Environment Day (WED) at Epe Recreation Center, Sanwo-olu urged proper plastic waste management. He claimed that Nigeria produces about 2.5 million tonnes of plastic waste annually, including about 60 million sachet water bags and single-use shopping bags produced each day.
He believed that the population rise and rising demand for plastic will only make the problem worse.
The governor stated that the WED 2023 topic, “Solutions to Plastic Pollution,” aims to increase public awareness of environmental protection and the growing worldwide danger that plastic use poses to SDGs 11, 12, 14 and 15.
He estimates that Lagos produces roughly 870,000 tonnes of plastic garbage per year, or 15% of the state’s overall waste production.
Sanwo-Olu claimed that a number of projects were started as a result of the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources and its agencies’ persistent commitment to addressing the difficulties associated with managing plastic garbage.
Following the successful completion of a pilot project inside the state secretariat building, Alausa, he identified certain initiatives, including the establishment of Recycling Banks in Government Residential Estates, schools, villages, and marketplaces.