Lagos Bans Plastic

Lagos, Nigeria, has banned the use of single-use plastic. Africa News reported:

The Commissioner for the Environment and Water Resources, Tokunbo Wahab announced on Sunday, January 21 adding that the decision was reached, following the menace which the single-use plastics, especially the non-biodegradable Styrofoam, were causing on the environment.

The levels of plastic pollution were so high that drainage was severely affected. The city is massive, with a population of 21 million, making it the largest metro in Africa.

The government blamed wealthy industrial interests for the trouble and stated that a “few wealthy businessmen” held the city population “hostage.” It described the dumbing as “indiscriminate.” 

Plastic has already affected the city’s drinking water. A Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry study reported that most water in Lagos comes from boreholes. The water is used untreated throughout much of the city’s population. The plastic does not degrade, even after entering the human body.

It is another example of how a relatively poor population in a crowded city is harmed by industrial activity over which the people have no control.

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