As the world marks the 2023 World Environment Day, the Ogun state government has reiterated its commitment at reducing, reusing and recycling of plastic wastes as parts of its solutions to plastic pollution.
The state government stated this in a release by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Engr. Rasak Ojetola on the celebration of this year’s World Environment Day with the theme “Solution To Plastic Pollution” which is celebrated worldwide on the 5th of June every year.
According to him, there is need for urgent and collective action as the scourge of plastic pollution has become a visible threat that has impacted every community around the world with more than four hundred million tonnes of plastic products produced every year worldwide with less than ten percent of them recycled which adversely affects the ecosystems across the globe from the highest mountain peaks to the depth of the ocean floor.
Ojetola said it is in realization of the urgent need to finding solution to this global plastic pollution which is the theme of this year’s World Environment Day that the Ogun State government have among others encourage the establishment and licencing of Recycling Centres statewide as well as regulating the activities of Recycling Plants as ways of finding solutions to plastic pollution in the state.
These efforts by the Ogun State government, he added has yielded positive results as the majority of plastic wastes which would have led to plastic pollution have found their ways to the recycling centres and plants spread across the state with residents making economic gains.
This, he reasoned has reduced plastic pollution which would have arisen through plastics dumped at drainage channels, canals, as well as rivers with its unpleasant effects on environmental and aquatic bodies with negative consequences on human existence.
Ojetola therefore called on all the Recycling Centres and Industries operating in the state to continue to imbibe global best practices as the state government will not tolerate dereliction of duties which may lead to plastic pollution.
He also used the opportunity to appeal to residents of the state to continue to reduce, reuse and recycle their plastic wastes so that together the state will have credible solutions to plastic pollution in compliance to theme of this year’s World Environment Day.
