Lagos Expresses Worry Over Single-Use Plastics, Others

The Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency has decried the increasing use of single-use plastics, pet bottles, polystyrene and other non-biodegradable wastes in the state.

According to a statement by the agency, the Permanent Secretary, Office of Environmental Services, Lagos State Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources, Mrs Belinda Odeneye, raise concerns during the launch of the official ban on single-use plastics among the agency’s staff.

She said all hands must be on deck in order to guarantee quality health for Lagosians while also mitigating the risks and health hazards caused by environmental pollution.

She appreciated LASEPA for championing the advocacy on reusable plastics and for setting the pace for environmental sustainability for emulation by other ministries, departments and agencies of the State Government.

Odeneye said the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources aligned with the advocacy on reusable plastic by LASEPA, adding that the ministry had in the past taken some measures to curb single-use plastics.

She said, “The Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources has a Plastic Waste Management Policy in place; we also have a Recycling Bank for plastic wastes within the premises where people can exchange their plastic wastes for money.

“Also recently, the ministry held sanitation competition where Surulere emerged the winner and were rewarded accordingly. So, we are not just advocating a cleaner environment through our policy on plastic waste management, but we have also put a reward system in place to encourage willful compliance. “

According to the General Manager of LASEPA, Dr Dolapo Fasawe, the agency, which is responsible for environmental protection, is leading by example with the launch of the ban on single-use plastics among its staff.

She added that the agency was experimenting with the feasibility of the ban before making recommendations to other government agencies to embrace the advocacy on reusable items and ban on single-use plastics.

Fasawe said, “Today, I will be handing over some dispensers as well as some reusable items to all the departments and units as my personal contribution to this campaign on ban of single use of plastic by LASEPA.

“Beyond giving out these items, the long-term goal is to ensure compliance by all the staffs of this agency because I want the ban on these items to be effective and I also want all the staffs to become advocates of this initiative in their respective places of residence.”