Global Initiative for Food Security and Ecosystem Preservation, an NGO, has called for a total ban on single-use plastics if they could not be reused or recycled.
Its Executive Director, David Michael, made the call at a clean-up exercise in the Jabi neighbourhood of Abuja to commemorate the 2018 World Environment Day, which has “Beat Plastic Pollution’’ as its theme.
Micheal said that plastic pollution had been a serious environmental menace all over the world.
He added that this explained why his organisation decided to organise the neighbourhood clean-up, in collaboration with the students of Government Secondary School, Jabi, so as to sensitise the students to the need to control plastic waste in the country.
“Plastics here in the Jabi community run off to Jabi Lake. If you see the quantity of plastics in Jabi Lake, you will never believe it.
“That is why we chose this community that is very close to the Jabi Lake because all the waste of the residents overflow to the lake; we want the students to understand that it is important to dispose waste safely.
“We are also saying that any plastic material you can reuse, reuse it because single-use plastics are contaminating the environment.
“We are advocating for a total ban of single use of plastics in Nigeria because plastics do not decay; they remain in the soil, river and ocean for years,” he added.
Michael urged producers of plastic packages to use biodegradable materials such as paper bags and leaf to package consumable products.
He said that the production of paper bags would boost people’s interest in tree planting, while creating jobs for chemical engineers and other Nigerians.
“Today, all over the world, is World Environment Day and UN has chosen a good theme for the day, which is `Beat Plastic Pollution’.
“Plastics have become a menace to our society, the environment and our heart.
“We need to reduce the rate at which we are using plastics, not just only Nigeria but all over the world.
“Today is a significant day for all of humanity. In fact, every day should be labelled the World Environment Day because our lives largely depend on the environment.
“The air we breathe, the food we eat and even ourselves as humans, all came from the soil which is the major component of the environment.
“There is, therefore, a compelling need for us to take care of our environment,” he said.
Clara Okpala, a student of Government Secondary School, Jabi, underscored the need to ban the production and utilisation of single-use plastics because whenever plastic waste got into rivers, it harmed and killed fishes and other marine life.
Martins Obi, another student of the school, said that plastic waste, because of its inability to decompose, often blocked water channels, thereby causing floods which displaced people from their homes.
