The Secretary to Government of the Federation, George Akume, on Thursday, urged stakeholders to invest in recycling and waste management to reduce its effect on the environment and create employment opportunities for young Nigerians.
Akume made the appeal at the public presentation and launch of ‘Recycling in Nigeria’, a book written by a member of the House of Representatives and Deputy Chairman of the House Committee on Environment, Terseer Ugbor.
The development comes two weeks after the Managing Director of Lagos Waste Management Authority, Dr Muyiwa Gbadegesin, announced that the 23 million residents in the state generate 5.46 million tonnes of waste annually.
According to Gbadegesin, LAWMA is seamlessly managing waste through a range of initiatives anchored on effective collection, treatment and disposal.
Akume, who was represented by his Chief of Staff, Chris Tarka shared the same sentiment, saying Nigeria must borrow a leaf from the developed countries that are already way ahead in the waste-to-wealth initiative.
He said, “The recycling of waste from Dunghill looks to me like a big business that has been overlooked over time. It is also appropriate that the author is now opening our eyes to such an opportunity. We, as a growing community of young Nigerians willing to do business, have somehow been blinded to this golden opportunity.
“In many developing countries, you will observe three trash cans outside their households and every business community. Among the cans, you will see one for newspapers, glass products and plastics. These products are being collected to be recycled for use to cut down on wastage.
“I want to encourage us to take recycling very seriously after this presentation. Whether in our rubbish heaps, homes or community, the products for meeting this market are readily available. I am happy this is coming at a time when many people are crying they don’t have a job and couldn’t create businesses for themselves.
Earlier in his address, the author, Ugbor harped on the need to educate the population of young Nigerians on the need to maintain a clean society that could also put money in their pocket.
The federal lawmaker representing Kwande/Ushongo Federal Constituency in Benue said it is appalling to observe that many Nigerians are not taking advantage of the huge opportunities embedded in waste management and recycling.
“It is high time Nigerians knew more about recycling, waste management and waste-to-wealth, including plastics, tyres, e-waste, metal waste, papers, and waste oil, among others. This helps to kick-start the culture of recycling in Nigeria and educate young people on the practice and how they can make a livelihood from it.
“There is a huge potential in the sector and we need to get more people involved to boost employment opportunities. Nigeria generates several thousands of wastes every day, and these wastes have a lot of value and resources that can be recovered from proper recycling. The job opportunities are enormous and the energy potential is there for entrepreneurs,” he stated.
When asked what the National Assembly is doing to enforce proper waste management, the deputy chairman of the House Committee on Environment explained that lawmakers in the country had recently proposed amendments to several laws on recycling in the country.
Ugbor also identified the policy of Extended Producers’ Responsibility that ensures every manufactured product in the country passes through a waste recycling process as one such effort.
He said, ‘At the National Assembly, we have proposed a bill called the EPR Act to mainstream and ensure that all manufacturing companies, commercial enterprises and individuals in the country take responsibility for the waste we throw away in our daily activities.
“To achieve this, the Ministry of Environment and NESREA launched the EPR survey where every manufacturer, importer and individual who produces or uses a product that becomes waste must take responsibility throughout the entire life cycle of that particular product.”
