Lagos To Ban Single-Use Plastics, Sachet Water From January 2025

Lagos is set to ban single-use plastics and sachet water from January 2025.

Glamtush reports that the Lagos State Government on Thursday stated plans to ban the circulation of single-use plastics, and sachet water, among others, from January 2025.

The Commissioner for the Environment and Water Resources, Tokunbo Wahab, confirmed the ban during a stakeholders’ workshop and awareness session on the implementation of the ban on the use of Styrofoam and SUPs for packaging in Lagos. He explained that the ban, which is scheduled to start in January 2025, is a part of measures by the state government to establish policy guidelines for plastic use, ensuring sustainable management of plastic waste and a safe, healthy environment.

This online news platform recalls that the state government had in January 2024 banned the use of styrofoam in all government establishments and across the metropolis in general, following the increasing prevalence of plastic waste and its negative effect on the environment in recent years.

Meanwhile, stakeholders in the sector have urged the state government to carry out phase implementation of the ban rather than outright enforcement for effective and efficient compliance as well as giving it a human face in the present economic hardship.

Also speaking, the Lagos chairperson, Association for Table Water Producers of Nigeria, ATWAP, Mosaku Ololade, said, “We have been engaging Lagos State Government on the way forward and we have been sensitising our members on the planned ban.

“We want the government to continue to engage us. We are a responsible association. We are ready to work with the government.

“We have over 2,000 members in Lagos alone with over 10,000 workers. We hereby, implore the government to implement the ban in phases to allow our members ample opportunity for compliance.

“There are a lot of things to be put in place before coming up with total enforcement,” Ololade said.