The megacity’s over 20 million residents contributed 870,000 tonnes to the global 57 million tonnes of plastic waste in 2024.<\/p>\n
Last month, Lagos<\/a> state authorities imposed a ban on single-use plastics, but its effectiveness is being undermined by weak enforcement and a lack of viable alternatives, according to residents. <\/p>\n The law, which commenced on 1 July, prohibits items such as cutlery, plates, and straws, with offenders risking business closure. However, other plastic forms, comprising a smaller percentage of the city\u2019s waste, remain in use.<\/p>\n The ban is far from fully implemented, with some shops still openly displaying Styrofoam<\/a> packs. <\/p>\n Mr Ogunbona, who continues to purchase his meals in such packaging, observed: “Sellers are still using it very well.” This ongoing reliance highlights the significant challenge facing Lagos<\/a> in its bid to curb its pervasive pollution<\/a> problem.<\/p>\n A global treaty on plastics <\/p>\n open image in gallery<\/p>\n A scavenger sorts out plastic waste at a dumpsite on the outskirts of Lagos, Nigeria, Monday, Aug 11, 2025. (AP Photo\/Sunday Alamba) (Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)<\/p>\n In Geneva<\/a> this week, countries including Nigeria<\/a> are negotiating a treaty to end plastic pollution. Such talks broke down last year, with oil-producing countries opposed to any limits on plastic production. In large part, plastics are made from fossil fuels<\/a> like oil and gas.<\/p>\n Lagos generates at least 13,000 tons of waste daily, almost a fifth of which is plastics, officials have said. In the absence of a proper waste management system, most of it ends up in waterways, clogging canals, polluting beaches and contributing to devastating floods.<\/p>\n Although the state government has promoted the ban on single-use plastics as a major step, watchdogs are skeptical.<\/p>\n \u201cIts effectiveness is limited without strong enforcement, affordable alternatives for low-income vendors and meaningful improvements in the city\u2019s overwhelmed waste management systems,\u201d Olumide Idowu, a Lagos-based environmental activist, told The Associated Press.<\/p>\n The Lagos state government did not respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n Scraping off labels with razor blades<\/p>\n open image in gallery<\/p>\n Nigeria Plastics Pollution (Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)<\/p>\n With the quest for a better life driving millions of Nigerians to Lagos, some in the city are finding ways to manage the pollution. Recent years have seen a rise of private waste managers and sustainability groups helping to tackle the crisis.<\/p>\n At a sorting site in Obalende, a bustling commercial suburb adjacent to the upscale Ikoyi neighborhood, two women with razor blades scraped labels from plastic soft drink bottles. <\/p>\n They uncapped the bottles and threw them into different nets, ready to be compressed and sold for recycling.<\/p>\n Competition has become tougher as more people join the work, the women said. The informal network of waste collectors sell to, or sort for, private waste management companies. They can make around 5,000 naira ($3.26) a day.<\/p>\n But far more work is needed.<\/p>\n Manufacturers have a key role to play in tackling the plastic waste problem, according to Omoh Alokwe, co-founder of the Street Waste Company that operates in Obalende.<\/p>\n \u201cThey need to … ensure that the plastics being produced into the environment are collected back and recycled,\u201d Alokwe said.<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Nigeria_Plastics_Pollution_52175.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Nigeria](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Nigeria_Plastics_Pollution_88542.jpg\")
<\/p>\n