The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) has advised Lagos State Government to reconsider its planned ban on single-use plastics (SUPs) effective from July this year, warning that the implementation of the ban could have far-reaching socioeconomic consequences for manufacturers, traders, recyclers, and end users.
The association, in a statement, maintained that the ban was not based on credible evidence, lacked stakeholder engagement, and risked worsening unemployment and poverty levels in the state
Commenting on the government’s planned action, the association’s Director-General, Segun Ajayi-Kadir, clarified: “Not a plastic problem, but a waste management failure. It is the failure of plastic waste management that leads to pollution, not the material itself.”
The industrial expert warned that banning SUPs would not address pollution problem in the state but only substitute one problem for another, especially without scalable alternatives or infrastructure to support the transition.
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The organized private sector (OPS) group used a study conducted by it, which showed that all manufacturers surveyed expressed fears of job losses and workforce restructuring if the ban is implemented.
According to MAN, other findings of the study are that 89% of actors in the plastic value chain rely on SUPs as their primary source of income, over 75% of end users, including SMEs, depend on plastic packaging, with no affordable or practical alternatives, 93% of dealers, many of whom are women, reported no prior information or social support mechanisms to cushion the impact, and recyclers fear reduced availability of plastic feedstock for their underutilized plants.
Noting that there is no form of arrangement for social protection for the employees who will lose their livelihoods as a result of this ban, the association further cautioned that the plastic waste ban could also lead to loss of export revenue, especially as many manufacturers based in Lagos distribute to other states and African markets, among other negative impacts.
The association maintained that plastic packaging recycling rates were below 15%, compared to 52.5% in the UK and 68.9% in Germany.
It advocated a systems-oriented, circular economy strategy. It urged the government to invest in recycling infrastructure, including sorting and collection systems instead of an outright ban by the Lagos State Government.
To ensure a cleaner environment in the state, the MAN advised the government to support local production of sustainable alternatives and adopt evidence-based policymaking informed by context-specific data, as well as engage stakeholders, including manufacturers, recyclers, traders, and consumers, and avoid duplication of existing industry-led recycling efforts, such as the Food and Beverage Recycling Alliance (FBRA).
The association said the Federal Government had already developed a National Plastic Action Roadmap and a National Policy on Plastic Waste Management (NPPWM), both of which promote circularity and were developed through inclusive consultations.
It canvassed: “Nigeria should not be destroying its petrochemical industry with bans on plastics but should instead close the loop by ensuring that all plastics are recycled.”
The MAN, while citing examples in other international countries to justify its position, clarified that many developed economies were not banning plastics but investing heavily in recycling and alternative materials.
For instance, it cited Canada’s $1.8 billion support for Dow Chemical’s plastic-to-zero plant and cautioned Nigerian governments against ill-guided policy models in finding lasting solutions to environmental risks associated with plastics and other material wastes.
