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.