Following the proclamation of International Zero Waste Day by the United Nations General Assembly last December, the EU Delegation, in collaboration with Nigeria’s Federal Ministry of Environment and other stakeholders, marked the 2024 Zero Waste Day on April 3, 2024, with a commitment to new efforts to reduce the menace.

At an event tagged “Beat Waste”, to commemorate the day in Abuja, the Deputy Head of Mission, EU Delegation to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Zissimos Vergos, said the theme underscored t both the importance of bolstering waste management globally and the need to promote sustainable consumption and production patterns.

“Every year humanity generates between 2.1 billion and 2.3 billion tonnes of municipal solid waste. However, global waste management services are ill-equipped to handle this, with 2.7 billion people lacking access to solid waste collection and only around 60 per cent of municipal solid waste being managed in controlled facilities,” he said

According to him, waste pollution not only significantly threatens human well-being and economic prosperity, but is also part of the triple planetary crises of climate change, nature/biodiversity loss and pollution. Without urgent action, he noted, annual municipal solid waste generation will hit 3.8 billion tonnes by 2050.

He said it was in recognition of this major challenge, that the EU initiated the Global Alliance on Circular Economy and Resource Efficiency (GACERE), spearheaded by the EU and UNIDO, with support from the UN Environment Programme, and also joined by Nigeria. The initiative fosters international collaboration to address plastic pollution, including in marine environments.

“Our other contributions and achievements include the work on the National Policy on Waste Battery Management of 2021, support to NESREA on the National Environmental (Plastic Waste Control) Regulations of 2023, and last but not least the National Circular Economy Roadmap to be unveiled today,” he added.

Also speaking at the event, Minister of Environment, Balarabe Abbas Lawal, said the Ministry, in recognition of opportunities in circular economy, was taking proactive measures to promote its principles and practices in the country, with a view to achieving the zero waste objectives.

These measures include: Strengthening relevant policies, and institutional and regulatory frameworks to address identified gaps. Enforcing national policies on solid waste management, plastic waste management and battery waste management. Implementation of the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) programme.

“These measures are a symbolic demonstration of our commitment to tackle the waste menace in our environment and a warning shot that waste generation and management in our country cannot remain business as usual. However, without the active involvement of the private sector and the general public, we will not reach the success desired,” he said.