The National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency reports that Nigeria uses more than 2.5 billion liters of sachet water per year. More than 32,000 companies make this water in Nigeria.
This was said by Prof. Innocent Barikor, the Director-General of NESREA, at the first meeting of the Child Project –GEF 11193 today in Abuja.
He told NAN that the goal of the initiative “Circular Solutions to Plastic Pollution in Nigeria” was to cut down on the use of plastic sachet water while making sure that people could still have safe drinking water.
Barikor noted that the conference was an important step forward in Nigeria’s continuous attempts to deal with the country’s rising problem of plastic pollution.
He noted that the widespread usage of single-use plastic water sachets had become both a convenience and a problem for the environment.
“Your presence here today shows that we all want to develop long-term, creative, and useful ways to solve this important environmental problem.
“As you may know, Nigeria uses more than 2.5 billion liters of sachet water every year. More than 32,000 companies in the country make this water.”This has helped people get more drinking water, but it has also had bad effects on the ecosystem.
“These include blocked drainage systems, flooding, damage to ecosystems, and threats to public health and biodiversity.”
“This project is not only timely, but also necessary because of the two problems of water access and plastic pollution,” he stated.
Barikor said that the Global Environment Facility (GEF) Child Project 11193 was a smart and game-changing way to deal with the country’s waste management problems.
“It fits with Nigeria’s national environmental goals and NESREA’s job to protect and preserve our environment for future generations.””The project takes a whole-system, circular approach, focusing on more than just waste management. It also looks at prevention, innovation, policy reform, and systemic change.”
Isabella Vanderbeck of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) said in a Goodwill message that Nigeria is an important partner in the fight against plastic pollution in the country.
“Life without plastic is really great. Let’s hit the ground and get rid of plastic,” Vanderbeck remarked.
Evelyn Swain of GEF also spoke and said that the group is still committed to working with Nigeria to cut down on the usage of single-use plastic water sachets in the country.GEF is happy to help Nigeria on its path to lowering the usage of single-use plastic water sachets while making sure that everyone has access to safe drinking water.
She remarked, “GEF sees Nigeria not just as a participant in this Integrated Programme, but also as a leader whose experience can help shape global solutions to plastic pollution.”
Anna Blanpain is the GEF Secretariat’s Senior Environmental Specialist and Plastic Reboot Coordinator.
Mrs. Zuliat Mohammed, Chief Scientific Officer at the Federal government of Water Resources and Sanitation, said that the government is ready to work with NESREA to make the project a success.
“This program will help Nigeria get rid of all these plastic things in the country,” she remarked.
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