It has, however, given producers and distributors a moratorium of three weeks after which full enforcement will start.
PUNCH Online reported that the state government, on Sunday, announced the ban on the use and distribution of Styrofoam and other single-use plastics across the state.
At a consultative meeting of the Lagos State Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources with representatives of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, and the Restaurant and Food Services Proprietor Association of Nigeria, the government maintained that there is no going back on the total ban of usage and distribution of single-use plastics in the state.
The state Commissioner for the Environment and Water Resources, Tokunbo Wahab, disclosed this in a statement on X on Thursday.
The statement partly read, “The Lagos State Government has been having different conversations with manufacturers on ways to end the use of single-use plastics in the state despite the pronouncement of the ban over three years ago, but the government has decided to take a bold step to stop the use, particularly styrofoam.
“The havoc and destruction caused to public utility by single-use plastics during and after the rainy season is unimaginable. If the producers had been responsible enough to respect the law, the government would not have had to wade into the matter.
“The number of lives that have been lost through the effect of the use of styrofoam, the destruction of the ecosystem and aquatic lives as well as the menace brought upon the environment cannot be quantified.
“As a responsible government, the lives of the residents are far more important than the profit producers set to make for the continuous production of styrofoam.
“The only moratorium that the state is willing to offer all producers and distributors of styrofoam is to delay the commencement of enforcement of the ban by three weeks after which the government will go on full enforcement of the law.”
The PUNCH reported in January 2023, that Lagos State had continued to battle the menace of plastic pollution despite the estimated $2 billion recycling industry in Nigeria
According to the report, Lagos State produces 870,000 tonnes of plastic garbage annually, and despite the government’s efforts to address the threat of plastic pollution and turn it into a profitable venture, the environmental concern just won’t go away.
