Nigeria’s plastics subsector has been projected to grow at 7% over the next 10 years. The report which was published by McKinsey & Company showed that the plastic subsector had grown by 5% over the past 5 years and 7.5% over the past 10 years.

While the Lagos government is set to introduce a long-overdue plastics collection system in the megacity, Nigeria’s commercial capital has a big problem with waste management.

Citizens are used to disposing of their waste irresponsibly. Single-use plastic products are not exempt from this irresponsible act, making it a bigger burden as plastic products need to be recycled. However, due to ignorance and unchecked bad habits, many continue to throw away their bottles and other waste into gutters.

In a welcome announcement, the Lagos state government proposed the establishment of plastic collection points in 57 local councils.

Adebola Shabi, Special Adviser to the Governor on Cleaner Lagos Initiative said this new development would be implemented in partnership with Visionscape. The government also intends to offer an incentive in return for plastic waste.

“At the end of the day, this initiative is going to help clean up the environment, because we consume a lot of bottled water on a daily basis in the state.

“So this will reduce the number of plastics in our drainages, it will reduce the amount of plastic in our canals and other places,” Shabi said.

During a conference in Lagos, Nigeria, Ravi Kanwal, the CEO of Songhai Packaging Industry Ltd, urged Nigeria’s National Agency for Food And Drug Control (NAFDAC) to use more plastic pallets for food and drug packaging as opposed to wood.

He argued that they were more hygienic, efficient, cost-effective and less prone to infestations than the conventional wood pallets.

About 1 billion trees are felled in a year to produce wooden pallets. Thus, the plastic alternative saves the trees and reduces the number of greenhouse gases that occur as a result of deforestation.

Kanwal said that his organization has been creating plastic pallets from recycled plastics sourced in Nigeria and exporting them to neighbouring countries.

“We have been producing in Nigeria from material sourced within the country and exporting to Ghana, Ivory Coast, Guinea, and other countries.

“Wooden pallets have a lifespan of three to six months and cost N3,500 per pallet, while plastic pallets last for three to five years and cost N17,000 per pallet.

“Food should be stored in plastic pallets to be preserved and free from infection,’’ he said.

With an increased global demand for alternatives in disposable packaging, the firm adds

“Plastic products used for packaging will eventually become less common as new technologies and growing industrialisation are shifting to more advanced and sophisticated means of packaging.

“Nonetheless, other uses of plastics aside from packaging (e.g. domestic ware) will continue to experience growth as consumer disposable incomes continue to rise.”

See the full article here http://plasticsnews.com.ng/2018/05/17/world-plastics-news-nigerias-plastics-sub-sector-growth/