By Jerome Onoja Okojokwu-Idu
The European Union has hinted at the possibility of extending mandatory recycled content targets for its construction, automotive and packaging sectors to drive up demand for recycled plastic products and protect the environment.
This was contained in a statement by the Independent Commodity Intelligence Services which quoted the director-general of the European Commission, Aurel Ciobanu-Dordea as saying during his speech at the recently held ICIS Global Plastics Recycling Policy Summit: “The Commission will come with proposals for mandatory recycled content in the areas of packaging, vehicles, and construction products. This will provide further demand and stimulation for the market of recycled plastics.”
According to Dordeau, the measures would focus on tightening rules and restrictions to make better use of current infrastructure, rather than building new ones as it mulls an addition to its existing requirements: polyethylene terephthalate (PET) beverage bottles containing a minimum of 25% recycled PET (R-PET) by 2025; and all beverage bottles containing a minimum of 30% recycled content by 2030.
“We will create the conditions through more detailed harmonisation for the member states … Probably some technology innovations will be necessary, but we are not betting necessarily on building up more infrastructure, scaling up significantly the infrastructure, but using more effectively the infrastructure that exists currently,” Dordeau said. “[With rules that are] more precise and detailed, but sometime also they will be perceived as more restrictive.”
The efforts of the EU in controlling the proliferation of plastic encompasses templates that can be emulated in Nigeria and the broader African continent. A recent report by The Conversation lamented the sullen state of efforts to combat plastic pollution in Nigeria compared to other developing African states like Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda and Tanzania. For context, a 2020 research paper by Emeka Dumbili and Leslie Henderson titled “The Challenge of Plastic Pollution in Nigeria documents the debilitating state of the ecological risks the country faces.
According to the paper, “Nigeria is widely reported as having released up to 0.34 million tonnes of plastic debris into the ocean in 2010 and was ranked the ninth country in the world for pollution of marine environments.” The report “Nigeria’s plastic pollution is harming the environment: steps to combat it are overdue” by The Conversation, recently, stated that the megacity Lagos produces between 13,000 and 15,000 tonnes of waste daily, including 2,250 tonnes of plastic. A 2019 bill by the National Assembly to prohibit the use of plastic bags is reportedly still stuck in proceedings.
Nigeria obviously needs legal precedents for controlling the use of PET beverage bottles. Mandating increased requirements for recyclable material will not only reduce the amount of debris from these bottles, but it would also create new businesses and employment in the industrial sector, encourage technological innovation and grow the country’s economy whilst saving the environment. The EU also mulls the introduction of a Deposit Return Scheme in its member countries to incentivise the public and improve waste collection rates.
Under DRS systems, buyers pay a deposit on their packaging at the point of collection. The buyers later drop off the packaging at a deposit return point – where it is typically sorted at the point of entry into the system – and are then given their deposit back. This system has a lot of potential to curb waste production, especially in areas with significant economic activity and population. It is essential that the Federal Government works in conjunction with state governments to create a framework for the protection of the environment and inland and coastal waterways.
