- Impose Levies on Plastics, Don Tells Govt
An environmental expert at the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Prof. Toyin Arowolo, says government’s intervention through taxes and levies on the use of plastics will address plastic pollution in the country.
Arowolo said this would be a vital solution to the challenge, adding that Rwanda, China, Kenya and many other countries had implemented policies aimed at reducing plastic pollution.
The environmental expert and others spoke at a programme to celebrate the 2018 World Environment Day in Abeokuta, Ogun State.
In a statement by the state government, Arowolo was quoted to have said people should be educated to sort their waste at home before disposing them, adding that this would reduce the volume of plastic that end up in water bodies.
“Nigerians should also consciously find other alternatives to plastic products that they use on daily basis,” he added.
The Ogun State Commissioner for the Environment, Mr. Bolaji Oyeleye, cautioned the residents of the state against dumping plastic bottles into the waterways across the state, as it posed a great threat to the environment.
He said there was a need for concerted efforts at eliminating plastic pollution in the country, adding that plastic pollution was one environmental challenge being faced globally.
The commissioner called for recycling of plastic containers or the use of other materials for packaging.
He stated, “Man’s over reliance on plastic products has resulted into severe pollution of the oceans and seas, thereby endangering marine life and posing a threat to human health.
