The Basel Convention Coordinating Centre for the African Region (BCCC-Africa) on the 10^th of August 2022 organized the Inception Workshop for the project titled: “Promoting environmentally sound management and control of transboundary trade of plastic waste in Nigeria, through inventory and stakeholder mapping”

The inception workshop was held at IBIS Hotel, Ikeja, (23 Toyin Street, Ikeja) Lagos.

The Inception Workshop brought together stakeholders from the entrie Nigerian Plastic Waste Management value chain. This included representatives from the Federal Ministry of Environment, the Nigerian Environmental Standards Regulatory & Enforcement Agency (NESREA), the Nigerian Customs Service, the National Associations of Plastics Manufacturers and Recyclers, Food and Beverages Recycling Alliance (FBRA), Lagos State Environment Protection Agency (LASEPA) and the Abuja Environmental Protection Board (AEPB). Also present were representatives of the Academia, NGO’s and members of Online and Print media.

Funding for the project was provided by Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad) under the Small Grants Programme on Plastic Waste of the Secretariat of the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm (BRS) Conventions..

The core objective of the inception workshop was to intimate the stakeholders on the project and its objectives as well as to expose them to some of the tools that would be used for data collection and processing.

Poject Objectives

To promote environmentally sound management of plastic wastes in Nigeria through initial activities that provide solid base and background data for further interventions. These activities are designed to:

 (i) provide reliable data on local plastic waste generation rate, and plastic waste trade (import/export), for the enhancement of ESM and control of transboundary movement  of plastic waste.

 (ii) establish database of local stakeholders involved in the lifecycle of plastics management in Nigeria. This will contribute to effective control of transboundary movement,   ESM, and tackling sources of plastic waste.

 Proposed Activities

 Activity 1-1: Implement national inventory for the import and export of plastic wastes, and establish mechanism for updating the inventory.

(i) Assess the inventory methodology developed for Ghana under the NORAD-1 project for its applicability to Nigeria. Refine the model as may be necessary for its application to Nigeria, in consultation with stakeholders.

(ii) Collect data required for the inventory (from customs, Ministry of Trade, importers/exporters, etc).

(iii) Implement the inventory and analyze the data.

(iv) Develop national report on TBM of plastic waste and transmit to the Basel Convention Secretariat.

Activity 1-2: Implement national inventory of generation of plastic waste to support the ESM.

(i) Assess the plastic waste inventory methodology for purpose of ESM, as  developed for Ghana under the NORAD-1 project, for its applicability to Nigeria. Refine the model as may be necessary for its application to Nigeria, in consultation with stakeholders.

(ii) Collect data required for the inventory (from diverse sources – industry, local governments, collectors, recyclers, disposers, etc).

(ii) Implement the inventory and analyze the data.

Activity 2-1: Map stakeholders in plastic life cycle, and create platform for networking.

(i) Work with local partners and stakeholders in government, private sector, NGOs, academia, informal sector, international development organizations to map a national list of stakeholders involved in production, use, recycling, disposal, research of plastics and plastic waste in Nigeria.

(ii) Create a website and other appropriate platforms for information and activate networking among plastic/plastic waste management stakeholders in Nigeria.

 The workshop involved presentation from the World Bank, the Global Partnership for Action on Plastic (GPAP), BCCC-Africa and the Project consultants. Also during the workshop, stakeholders had the opportunity for hands–on training on the Plastic Waste Inventory Toolkit developed under the Norad-1 project.

Click here to see pictures from the Workshop.

Newspaper Article link (for further reading):https://tribuneonlineng.com/plastic-waste-management-in-nigeria-bccc-africa-commences-inventory-stakeholder-mapping/