The Ooni of Ife Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi has called for the enforcement of a stronger regulatory framework for recycling policies to tackle plastic pollution.
The monarch spoke during the opening of Polysmart Packaging Limited. He praised the firm’s owners for their contributions to the sector. The paramount king said indiscriminate disposal of plastic bottles and other non-biodegradable materials on roads and drainages is a threat to cleanliness and development.
Oba Ogunwusi wondered why Nigerians could not maintain a cleaner environment. He stressed that plastic pollution was a major environmental challenge because discarded plastics were difficult to degrade warning that indiscriminate disposal could continue to undermine sanitation and damage the environment.
Chief Executive Officer Polysmart Packaging Wasiu Balogun said the company’s new $60 million factory would strengthen plastic waste recycling and support the country’s transition to a green economy.
He said the company had grown from a humble beginning in 2013 with an initial capital of N2 million to establish a facility designed to increase plastic waste recovery and recycling.
Balogun recomitted the company to responsible plastic waste management and that the National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency’s (NESREA) National Guidelines on Extended Producer Responsibility and National Environmental (Plastic Waste Control) Regulation 2026 would enable the company to track plastic waste and support brand owners in demonstrating regulatory compliance.
He said the company planned to engage collection agents in all the councils in Nigeria to improve the collection and recovery of plastic waste adding that the facility when operating at full capacity would process 100000 tonnes of mixed plastics yearly equivalent to approximately 6.5 billion PET bottles or 15 million bottles daily.
The initiative he noted would help prevent millions of plastic bottles from ending up in landfills being burned or entering the Atlantic Ocean thereby reducing environmental pollution.
Chairman Polysmart Packaging Limited Niyi Yusuf described the company as Africa’s largest food-grade recycled polyethylene terephthalate (rPET) plant saying it would position Nigeria as a recycling hub for West Africa.
Yusuf citing Germany South Korea and The Netherlands said Nigeria could achieve higher recycling rates through stronger producer responsibility systems and sustained investment in infrastructure.