Nigeria Needs to Reduce Their Dependency of Single-use Plastic Bags...

Plastic shopping bags are widely used for transporting a range of small consumer goods and in some regions, also serve secondary roles for conveying drinking water and disposing of human and other domestic wastes. While annual production and use statistics are not available from industry sectors, environmental groups estimate that between 500 billion and 1 trillion plastic bags are used globally each year. Since their inception, uncontrolled disposal of these bags has been causing environmental problems worldwide, and many municipal, regional, and national governments are beginning to take action. 

The problem is particularly acute in Africa due to its unique set of socio-economic and political conditions. Similarly unique solutions will be needed to solve this complex issue. In a number of African countries including Nigeria, plastic bag pollution is causing severe environmental and health damage that manifests itself in a number of ways. The bags are also used for disposing of human waste in city streets, in gutters, and on neighboring roofs. This leads to an "out-of-sight, out-of-mind" philosophy that superficially and incorrectly portrays the absence of the existing health risks compared to otherwise "open" human waste disposal.

Bags can block storm drains and sewage systems, leading to flooding and increased spread of disease. Water trapped in the bags also provides an ideal breeding ground for mosquitoes, raising the risk of malaria transmission. Plastic bags in our sewage system breed death threatening pathogens like typhoid, cholera, bacillary dysentery, tuberculosis, anthrax ophthalmia and infantile diarrhea, as well as parasitic worms.

Since most landfills are not routinely covered with soil in Nigeria, the bags are easily transported around the countryside where wildlife and livestock consume the materials, thus entering the food chain. The open fifth caused by plastic bags in our environmental promote excess reproduction of the house fly; more than 100 pathogens associated with the house fly may cause disease in humans and livestock.

Another health damaging practice is burning of waste. Where the bags are burned either for energy or mass reduction purposes, heavy metals and toxic organic compounds (e.g., polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and furans [PCDD/Fs; commonly referred to as "dioxins"] and polyaromatic hydrocarbons [PAHs]) can be produced causing respiratory diseases like asthma, cystic fibrosis, emphysema, chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder or acute respiratory distress syndrome just to name a few.

 

In agricultural areas, the bags can interfere with water and air movement through the soils, and thus decrease productivity of much-needed farmlands. And perhaps of greatest consequence, regardless of their location or end use, the bags require unsustainable petroleum-based raw material inputs for their production and once produced require centuries or millennia to decompose.

We need to eliminate the dependency on single-use plastic bag in our everyday habits…

Plastc Bag Pollution Persist

An article in the Vanguard news paper explained that Lagos State Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) put forth a initiative to combat the nuisance of pure water bag pollution within the state. LAWMA developed a buy back program; the program gives the bags a financial value which offers an incentive for people to sell the water bags back to the state rather than discard them as mealiness trash. (http://www.vanguardngr.com/2012/06/lagos-drains-of-pure-water-sachets-plastic-bottles/ )

The buy back program gets an "A" for effort, but a "F" for failing to have foresight.

Nigeria has no proper disposal or recycling method for its plastic and non plastic waste. Lagos alone generates 9000 metric tons of waste daily; 86% of the waste generated consists of plastic bottles and bags. In Nigeria, plastic bags have become almost a national symbol of waste and decadence. While plastic bags are not the only cause of pollution in Nigeria, they are perhaps the most evident of our garbage

 

LAWMA Recycling Manager said:“To make our land fill sites less odorous and over packed with waste, we have adopted a zero waste initiative to improve life in the society. The best way to become eco-friendly and help protect our environment is by recycling. This helps to eliminate the problem of landfill areas becoming filled with junk that could harm the soil as well as the environment.

However, for LAWMA to recycle pure water bags right back into another type of plastic bag is only converting one pollution menace into the same menace of being a plastic bag but with a different color and a different use. Over all both pure water plastic bags and thin black plastic bags are single use items that will continue to be a part of the millions of plastic bags that get dumped into waterways and landfill each year causing pollution, erosion, irrigation blockages and health problems.

Plastic is the fastest-growing component of the waste stream and plastic pollution like single-use bags are among the most commonly found items during environmental cleanups. Because plastic essentially never biodegrades, once littered, plastic becomes a permanent environmental problem. Plastic bags have become a threat to our ecosystem. LAWMA is not arresting the problem of plastic pollution, they are in fact promoting more of it and going against their OWN waste diversion goals.

May 23 is WORLD TURTLE DAY!

  HAPPY WORLD TURTLE DAY!

MAY WE COEXIST WITH YOU AS YOU HAVE DONE WITH EVERY SPECIES IN THE WORLD FOR OVER 150 MILLION YEARS WITHOUT HARM OR INJURY. MAY WE LEARN TO APPRECIATE YOUR STRUGGLES AND EXISTANCE BY PROTECTING THE WATERS AND SHORES SO THAT YOU CAN CONTINUE TO GRACE THE OCEANS WITH YOUR ENDURANCE AND WISDOM.

Marine turtles are found in warm and temperate seas around the world. Adults of most species are found in shallow, coastal waters, bays, lagoons, and estuaries and the open sea. Juveniles of some species may be found in bays and estuaries, as well as at sea.

Marine turtles are reptiles and belong to a group of animals which also includes snakes, lizards, and crocodiles. Marine turtles are split into two families; Cheloniidae, which are marine turtles with shells covered with scutes (horny plates), and Dermochelyidae with only one modern species, the leatherback turtle, which are covered with leathery skin. Turtles have inhabited the planet for over 150 million years.

Because of Nigeria’s warm climate and various waterways; it is only natural that sea turtles would call the coastal waters of Nigeria home. Unfortunately, sea turtles are endangered in every part of the world and Nigeria has a variety of this endangered species that occupy their shores 

Unfortunately, our waste is contaminating the ocean with billions of tons of plastic, which harms and kills approximately 100,000 sea turtles and other marine animals each year. Sea turtles often mistake floating plastic bags for their favorite food, jellyfish, and the consequences of ingesting plastic causes blockages within their digestive system and eventual death.  

The plastic in our oceans is killing thousands of sea turtles and marine mammals each year. Help us decrease the amount of plastic that is put in our oceans by adopting habits that exclude plastics.  

We can easily save the sea turtles from extinction by eliminating our use of plastic bags... There other obstacles that harm marine life, but for sea turtles the biggest is plastic bags in the ocean. Switching to REUSABLE BAGS can eliminate millions of plastic bags entering the ocean in a lifetime thus allowing the sea turtle to continue to strive along with other marine life.

Sea turtles play a vital role in out marine ecosystem protecting their existence in turn protects human existence. Say NO to Plastic! and Don't forget your Reusable Bag! 

 

Do You Know How Long Your Trash Last?

This is why we have to be conscious about the things we use and the things we throw away. We should always have it in the forefront of our minds to be aware of what is biodegradable and what is not and what are the long term affects to our Eco-system when we choose convenience over consideration. Our future relies on the actions of the present day.

Plastic Really is NOT Convinient

It's never too late to change to Reusable Bags....

Nigeria is no exception to this number... Nigeria uses billions of plastic bag per year that end up in our ocean, landfill and environment; eventually it ends up in our food chain then in us.

 Despite the lack of recycling in Nigeria; it is great that we reuse soda and beer bottles and the people in the country are resourceful enough to find other ways of reusing items. But, one significant way to really make a difference in the environment is to use reusable bags when shopping. Plastic bags have been one of the most appalling pollutants in our ocean and lands and have been a menace for decades. Many countries and popular cities around the world have successfully banned the use of plastic bags or reduced their plastic bag dependency; this is no small change! Hopefully, with environmental education offered to Nigerian citizens and OCEAI’s efforts to reduce plastic waste in the country; Nigeria can become a part of the nations making a positive change towards eliminating their plastic bag habit and eventually adopt decrees banning plastic bags altogether.  

Every Nation needs to incorporate positive responsibility towards towards our Eco-system.

But, you don’t have to wait for the law to come to Nigeria; start making the change now by using Reusable bags in your household. It is never too late to form the habit of exchanging plastic bags for reusable bags when shopping; make the change this year. It is as simple as just saying “NO!” to plastic bags and bringing your own reusable bags.  

It's that easy!!! Bring Your Own Bag and just say NO to plastic bags... Nothing complicate and so worth it.

Not only will you be helping resolve a global issue; you will be setting an example within your household and your immediate surroundings… You can explain to your house help why you no longer want to use plastic bags and he/she should start using the reusable bags provided to them when they go shopping on your behalf.  Eventually, your house help will learn the habit of utilizing reusable bags and introduce it to their home and it will be a positive cycle that you generated.

Do the math! One reusable bag will save over 500 plastic bags from polluting our environment and spoiling our ecosystem per year - that's almost three million plastic bags in a lifetime; If you can educate just ONE other person to use reusable bags rather than plastic bags; you would be making a positive global impact towards the future for the next generations.

Reusable Bags vs. Plastic Single-use Bags

We decide to prove a visual point...  One of our staff members goes grocery shopping biweekly; she was heading for her grocery shopping for the beginning of the month of March. We went against our convictions and asked her to go on her shopping errands without her reusable bags to see how many plastic bags she would come back home with...

Our staff member came back with 21 plastic, single use bags; including a bag from a fast food restaurant.

Our staff member came back home with 21plastic bags filled with groceries (she wasn't too happy about this). We then off-loaded the contents of the plastic bags into her reusable bags to show how reusable bags  are not only Eco-friendly, but a lot more conducive over plastic bags; plastic bags are not only a major cause of waste pollution , but they are not convenient and  they do half the job of a reusable bag.

6.5 Reusable bags filled with the same groceries; the half bag has the food from the fast food restaurant in it.

All the contents in the 21 plastic bags fit nicely and comfortably into 6 reusable bags and still had space for more items. Grocery contents that normally would fit into at least 3-4 plastic, single-use bags can fit in one reusable bag; reducing how many plastic bags a customer uses or comes home with. Plastic bags have a very short life span; reusable bags have a life span of years. One reusable bag can carry a weight of 30 to 40 pounds; it takes about 5 plastic bags to carry the same amount of weight and they would have to be doubled with another plastic bag for added security.

Did you know that Nigerians use over 100 billion plastic bags each year? If 25% of families used 10 fewer plastic bags per month; we would save 2.5 billion plastic bags from entering out environment per year!

Our staff member came home from her shopping with 21 plastic bags and she does the same type of grocery shopping twice in a month which means she brings home a minimum of  42 plastic bags every month; that's 504 bags a year that will end up filling our landfills. Think about it, she is just 1 out of over 160 million people in Nigeria who bring home the same amount of plastic bags or more.

Hassle free and ascetically better reusable bags. Besides being such a menace to our environment; plastic bags are such a pain to keep tidy.

A major bonus about reusable bags is it allows hassle free storage... Our staff member easily folds all her reusable bags into one and when she goes shopping, she grabs the bag with all the other bags already in it. It is a lot more convenient than finding space to stuff all the plastic bags or filling the trash can with a bunch of plastic bags since recycling is not available in Nigeria.

The verdict... Reusable bags win by a long shot! Plastic bags aren't even a contender... 

No caption needed... This says it all!