The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) on Monday called on the National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA) to pursue environmental sustainability without sacrificing industrial growth, economic competitiveness, employment, and social welfare.
Segun Ajayi-Kadir MAN Director -General, who bore the minds of the manufacturers , references the proposed ban on single-use plastics below 80 microns by the NESREA.
The Association urges NESREA to suspend the implementation pending a comprehensive Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA) of the environmental, economic, social, fiscal, and employment implications of the proposed regulation.
The regulations seek to prohibit the production and use of single-use plastic products below 80 microns in thickness pursuant to Section 26(1), impose taxes on shopping bags with wall thicknesses ranging from 30 to 50 microns under Section 26(2), and restrict a wide range of plastic products listed in the Eleventh Schedule.
MAN notes that the proposed measures could significantly disrupt industrial production, undermine investments in the plastics value chain, threaten thousands of direct and indirect jobs, and impose substantial socio-economic costs on manufacturers and consumers alike.
While recognizing the need to address environmental pollution and promote sustainable waste management practices, MAN believes that the proposed regulation is premature, lacks sufficient empirical justification, and poses significant risks to Nigeria’s economy, industrial sector, employment landscape, and the livelihoods of millions of citizens.
” Unfortunately, many of the critical recommendations contained in the 2024 NNPAP Plastic Circularity Roadmap are yet to be fully implemented.“
NNPAP Plastic Circularity Roadmap
The Association notes that the Federal Government, through the National Plastic Action Partnership (NNPAP), developed a comprehensive Plastic Circularity Roadmap in 2024 in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Environment.
The roadmap provided a strategic framework for achieving plastic waste reduction through enhanced collection systems, recycling infrastructure, Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), circular economy initiatives, public awareness campaigns, and investments in waste management.
Unfortunately, many of the critical recommendations contained in the 2024 NNPAP Plastic Circularity Roadmap are yet to be fully implemented.
It is therefore difficult to understand why the government is proceeding with a new prohibition regime without first evaluating the effectiveness of existing measures and implementing the agreed roadmap designed specifically to address plastic pollution in a sustainable and inclusive manner.
More importantly, there has been no publicly available assessment of the impact of previously restricted single-use plastic products in Nigeria.
There is no evidence showing the extent to which earlier bans have reduced environmental pollution, improved waste collection rates, enhanced recycling performance, or changed consumer behavior.
Public policy should be driven by evidence, measurable outcomes, and stakeholder consultation rather than assumptions,” said the Association.
