Japan Pledges Additional Support for Nigeria’s Plastic Waste Control
The Japanese Ambassador to Nigeria, Hideo Suzuki, has said his country will provide more support for Nigeria’s efforts to tackle plastic waste control through the project “Accelerating a Circular Plastic Economy to Reduce Plastic Pollution and its Impacts in African Region and its Countries.”
The envoy noted that “the initial support through the Japanese Supplementary Budget (JSB1) had supported stakeholders’ engagement, development of National Guidelines for the Implementation of EPR for Packaging (Plastic), and EPR Enforcement Plan.”
Speaking during a courtesy call on the Director General of the National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA), Dr Innocent Barikor, the envoy expressed the Japanese government’s satisfaction with NESREA’s dedication and commitment in the first phase of the project.
He said the second phase of the project, which would be funded from the Japanese Supplementary Budget 2 (JSB2), would kick off in March 2025 and further scale up on the initiatives of the first phase.
The second phase of the project will consider developing reuse and refill systems to address pollution from water sachets, conducting a feasibility study to identify possible reuse solutions, consulting with relevant stakeholders, and identifying financial gaps for reuse systems and solutions to Single-Use Plastic (SUP) pollution.
Responding, the Director General of NESREA, Dr Innocent Barikor, expressed his gratitude to the government and people of Japan, noting that their support has assisted the agency in promoting sustainable environmental practices and aligning with a circular plastic economy.
He said the agency was desirous of understudying the advanced and effective waste management system operated in Japan and looked forward to future collaborations with the Government of Japan.
