The chairman Senate Committee on Environment, Senator Ike Ekweremadu has expressed the preparedness of the National Assembly to partner with the Nigerian Bottling Company, NBC, and the Food and Beverage Recycling Alliance, FBRA, to fight the menace of plastic pollution through recycling.
He said this while welcoming a delegation of the Nigerian Bottling Company (NBC), led by the Managing Director, Mr Mathieu Seguin, which paid him a visit on Wednesday. He praised the efforts of NBC and its partners in FBRA for their commitment to promoting environmental health through recycling.
He said: “We have a problem here, which is weak legal and policy regimes regarding plastic and recycling, which itself is a major challenge to the environment.
“Although we have been hearing about recycling in Nigeria, we have not seen any concrete actions or impacts, as our environment is still littered with plastic wastes.
“So, I am happy you identified that problem of plastic pollution on your own and have committed yourself to help us to solve the problem of your own volition.
“Now that we have seen organizations and companies that are ready to partner with us as a parliament, we will be glad to build formidable synergy with you and the Food and Beverage Recycling Alliance to preserve our environment.
“In doing this, I believe we need to bring all the stakeholders together by 2021 to come up with necessary proposals, which we can translate into legislation, borrowing a leaf from what other countries are doing”.
Mr Seguin, who is also the Chairman of FBRA, speaking earlier, asked for the support of the Senate on a legislative framework on plastic management that is practical, sustainable, and private sector-led.
He reiterated the need for the Federal Government to redirect focus from packaging or plastic tax to the implementation of Extended Producer Responsibility, EPR, which he said would be more effective in solving the problem of plastic pollution.
