STYROFOAM: LAGOS STATE REITERATES COMMITMENT TO PROHIBIT USAGE, DISTRIBUTION WITHIN LAGOS
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…..Offers Manufacturers and Retailers Three Weeks To Exhaust Products Already In The State
The Lagos State Government insisted on Thursday that the complete prohibition on the use and distribution of Styrofoam in the state will not be overturned.
The affirmation was made during a consultative meeting held at the Alausa Secretariat between the State Government and representatives of the Restaurant and Food Services Proprietor Association of Nigeria (REFSPAN) and Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN).
Speaking on behalf of the state, Commissioner for the Environment and Water Resources, Tokunbo Wahab, stated that the environment and public health had already suffered enough harm.
He stated that the only moratorium the state is prepared to provide to all manufacturers and retailers of Styrofoam is a three-week postponement of the start of the ban’s enforcement.
According to him, if the stockists are sincere, three weeks should be sufficient for the products that are currently available in the state to run out.
Wahab reminded everyone that although the rule prohibiting Styrofoam was declared more than three years ago, no one had attempted to implement it until recently.
“You will all agree with me that for over three years this conversation has been ongoing, waiting for when the big bold step of enforcement will be taken”, he said.
He claimed that it is impossible to put a number on the number of lives lost as a result of the usage of Styrofoam, the devastation of aquatic life and ecosystems, and the threat to the environment.
He emphasized that the lives of the citizens are considerably more essential than the profit producers set to make for the ongoing production of Styrofoam.
He stressed that the producers’ attempt to postpone the ban is akin to asking people to consume poison for an extended period of time in order to lessen their financial losses, and he described the profound impact that Styrofoam has on the healthcare system.
He underlined that the devastation and chaos this product causes to the public utilities during and after the rainy season is unthinkable, adding that the government would not have needed to become involved if the makers had been accountable enough to follow the law.
He claims that by granting producers and company owners in the hospitality industry a three-week moratorium, the government is humanizing this ban and reminding people that leadership and governance entail making difficult choices.
According to him, producers have an obligation to society, but none have demonstrated this obligation by carrying out an environmental impact assessment before starting manufacturing for general use.
He stated that discussions on different kinds of single-use plastics will go on until a practical solution that results in a ban is found.
Speaking earlier, Dr. Gaji Omobolaji Tajudeen, Permanent Secretary, Office of Environmental Services, stated that the product is not recyclable and will not change over a century, adding that the decision to outlaw it was made in response to the environmental threat posed by Styrofoam use.
He went further by saying that animals frequently mistake Styrofoam for food and that it poses a threat to aquatic and wild life.
Furthermore, the Managing Director of LAWMA, Dr. Muyiwa Gbadegeshin said the State Government can no longer continue to watch the Styrofoam pack clogging the drainage channels bearing in mind that the particular plastic product is hazardous to human health.
“It will be irresponsible for the government to sit and fold its hands because the cost of clearing those packs from tertiary, secondary and primary drains is very expensive”, he added.
Meanwhile, the representatives of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Okpe Sunday and Restaurant and Food Services Proprietor Association of Nigeria (REFSPAN), Mr. Olaoye Kazeem earlier pleaded for leniency and for time to allow MAN and RESPAN to use existing stock before enforcement commences.
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