TOWARDS A FRAMEWORK FOR SUSTAINABLE PLASTIC MANAGEMENT IN THE

NIGER DELTA

1. Introduction

The Niger Delta region which once possessed amazing natural abilities offering a protected
habitat for aquatic life that in turn supports human life and is referred to as the largest mangrove
ecosystem in the world is now experiencing loss as the rise in illegal artisanal refining and poor
attention to the impact of the rapid growth in Plastic. These anthropogenic activities among the
locals in the region have led to unprecedented amounts of mixed types of plastic entering the
environment unmanaged.

Nigeria’s plastic disposal increased to 1.25 million tonnes, a 116.26 percent increase
from the previous record within a period of 15 years, and a rapid increase in the per
capita plastic utilization that has grown by five percent annually from 4kg to 6.5kg, it is
estimated that each citizen would utilize 7.5kg of plastic per year (UNIDO, 2023), thus
mismanaged plastic and ineffective waste management which is also a source of GHG
(Greenhouse gas) emission across the region if properly converted in a sustainable value chain
can generate revenue, create jobs and safeguard environmental assets.

Presently plastic generation is as much as two decades ago as global plastic production doubled
within the period of 2000 to 2019 to reach 460 million tonnes..Only 9% of plastic waste is
recycled (15% is collected for recycling but 40% of that is disposed of as residue) Another 19%
is incinerated, 50% ends up in landfill and 22% evades waste management systems and goes into
uncontrolled dumpsites ( OECD 2022).

Nigeria which is one of the highest contributors to plastic pollution generating about 2.5 million
tonnes of plastic waste annually has failed to recycle about 88% of this waste. Generally, Plastic
waste which has now deteriorated the environment are exacerbated by its general property which
includes its durability and non-biodegradable (Owanah, izinyon, and Igbinewekan 2017), its
source includes water sachets and shopping bags and is categorized into thermoplastic and
thermosets whereas the different types of Plastic include the Natural plastics and the synthetic
plastics. The Natural Plastics are, Animal Horn-casein (glue), Animal Milk-formaldehyde (Glue),
Insect Shellac –French polish, Plants-Bitumen (roads, flat roofs), Plants-cellulose (table tennis)

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and Trees- Latex (Rubber tyres) while the synthetic Plastics are Polyethylene Terephthalate
(PETE), High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE), Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC), Low-Density
Polyethylene(LDPE), Polypropylene (PP), Polystyrene( PS) and Miscellaneous Plastic (Mix
Plastics) (Yusuf, 2019)

Having a strength-to-weight ratio Polyethylene Terephthalate which is produced from fossil fuel
and has a property is regarded as the most used plastic around the world and is used to
manufacture the packaging of Soft drinks, water bottles, containers, salad dressing, biscuit trays,
and salad domes. High-density Polyethylene a thermoplastic polymer produced by the monomers
of ethylene is mostly used for Hygiene products like Juice containers, shampoo bottles, and
bleach bottles, Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) which is a thermoplastic material offers a wide variety
of applications and advantages across multiple industries in both rigid and flexible forms
(Ugoeze, Amogu, Oluigbo and Nwachukwu 2021)

Low-Density Polyethylene (LDPE) a translucent and semi-rigid long chain of identical subunit is
mostly used for groceries, newspaper deliveries, dry cleaning, and bread and so on,
Polypropylene a thermoplastic polymer is used as a packaging material and is one of the
foremost common sort of Plastic utilized in the manufacturing process, Polystyrene a synthetic
hydrocarbon polymer made up of monomer referred to as styrene is used for CD cases, plastic
cutlery, Polypropylene is used for microwave dishes, lunch boxes and potato chip bags and
Polyvinyl Chloride is used for cosmetic container, shoe soles and tubing.

Although Plastic was initially assumed to be harmless and inert however its ubiquitous use has
brought about negative effects on the environment which are vast and varied on land, animal life,
Public health, water, and air quality. The waste comes in different forms which range from macro
plastic (Pieces larger than 25 millimeters in diameter) to Nano plastic (less than 1000
nanometers).On land Plastic waste pollutes the land due to the chemical degradation of its
organic decomposition. Degradation of Plastic waste due to its chemical composition releases
different gases that can affect the atmosphere in different ways such as global warming and
nosocomial infections (Evode, N., Qamar, S. A., Bilal, M., Barceló, D., & Iqbal, H. M. (2021 ).

Plastic as a carbon based compound has several toxic components including phthalates,
polyfluorinated chemicals, bisphenol A , brominated flame which can be a harmful effect on the
environment, Public health, and on animal life. About 80% of the Plastic in the ocean is washed

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from the land on ten rivers, two in Africa and the rest in Asia (Lebreton, Slat, Ferrari, Sainte-
Rose, Aitken, Marthouse & Reisser 2018).

Furthermore, the sociological behavior by residents on Plastic waste disposal is quickly

deteriorating as the already existing inappropriate waste disposal method isn’t effective thus
reducing pollution from plastic will require action through implementing innovation, better
product design and developing environmental friendly alternatives

2. Current Management Strategies

Plastic wastes are rapidly produced and exposed at a high rate due to the world ’s industrial
development and population growth. Both biodegradable and non-degradable plastic wastes are
highly generated from both man-made activities and the natural processes of living creatures.

Government municipalities, social communities and local authorities have established different
measures and environmental safety legislation rules that can guide the population to dispose of
plastic waste after utilization (Benson et al., 2021). In the current existing waste management
strategies, several are scientifically based, such as recycling, incineration, bio-remediation, and
landfills. These methods are established to ensure a clean environment and good plastic waste
disposal (David et al., 2018; Awoyera and Adesina, 2020).

These plastic waste management practices include:

1. Recycling
2. Incineration
3. Landfills
4. Pyrolysis
5. Bio-remediation
EXISTING PLASTIC/ WASTE MANAGEMENT POLICIES IN NIGERIA

Nigeria formulated its first National Policy on the Environment in 1991 with subsequent
revisions. The National Policy on Environment imbibed a holistic framework to guide the
management of the natural and environmental resources of the country. As a framework
document, it prescribes sectoral and cross-sectoral strategic policy statements and actions for the
management of the country's resources for sustainable development.

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In addition to this, the National Policy on Solid Waste Management was developed to govern
the waste sector. This National Policy on Plastic Waste Management derives its strength from
these existing policies need to drive resources efficiency, cleaner production taking cognizance
of the life cycle of plastic and the fundamental obligation for the protection of the environment
as stated in Section 20 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 which
provides that the “State shall protect and improve the environment and safeguard the water, air
and land, forest and wild life of Nigeria”.

Additionally, Nigeria is a party to several international treaties and Multilateral Environmental

Agreements (such as the Basel Convention, the MARPOL Convention and United Nations
Climate Change Convention among others) governing environmental issues and most recently
the sustainable development goals. It is on the combined thrust of these instruments that the
National Policy on Plastic waste Management rests.

Some of the existing plastic/waste management policies in Nigeria and the Niger Delta are
outlined below:

1. National Policy on Environment 1999 (Sub section 6.1 of Section 6.0)

Revised 2016

2. National Policy of Environmental Sanitation, 2005

3. National Policy on Chemical Management, 2010
4. National Policy on Municipal & Agricultural Waste Management, 2012 (Draft)
5. Draft National Healthcare Waste Policy, 2013
6. National Policy on Solid Waste Management, 2018
(National policy on plastic waste management, 2020)

CASE STUDY OF PLASTIC WASTE MANAGEMENT BY CIVIL SOCIETY

ORGANIZATIONS (CEHRD)

In the press release by the centre for environment, Human Rights and development (CEHRD) in
the 2018 world environment day, CEHRD emphasized the need for a deliberate policy to
comprehensively manage plastic in the State. They emphasized that the Rivers state waste
Management Agency (RIWAMA) has a major role to play. First, there should be massive
enlightenment on the need to reduce plastic use, reuse plastic or recycle it (CEHRD, 2018). It has

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been observed that at the crude level, plastic reuse is practiced. For example, petty traders use
plastic bottles to sell oil, local drinks, and for liquid storage. They noted that plastic management
life cycle currently ends partly at the reuse level because there is neither a policy nor mainstream
education on the need to recycle.

They advised that the massive enlightenment advocated for earlier should be followed by hands-
on waste sorting education. This they noted will only be sustainable if RIWAMA has plastic
collection and recycling centres in the State. They advocated that receptacles should be provided
at designated collection centres across the State including public places such as markets —not
just in Port Harcourt. They posited that people should be educated on the benefits of waste
sorting and recycling —to the environment, individuals and the State. They further instructed
that while these sensitization and awareness creation is ongoing, the Rivers State House of
Assembly has a role to develop legislation that will ensure effective and sustainable
plastic management (CEHRD, 2018).

They therefore strongly advocated that the Rivers State Government should, as a matter of
urgency, initiate policies that will compel industries that package with plastics to embed end-of-
life-cycle principle in their production processes —they should be concerned with the fate of
their packaging plastic when it is disposed by the end user. They further recommended that
producers of bottle and sachet waters should provide compensatory schemes that would get the
empty plastic bottles and sachets back to them. For example, if a deposit scheme rewards anyone
who returns 100 empty water sachets with a bag or two bags of sachet water it will be hard to see
useless sachet bags on our streets (CEHRD, 2018).

CURRENT BUSINESS MODELS ON PLASTIC MANAGEMENT

In countries where municipal solid waste (MSW) management is implemented, plastic is

collected for recycling, incineration or disposal by landfifilling (Brouwer et al., 2018). In
countries lacking MSW, plastic may be collected by informal waste collectors, but is commonly
dumped or burned. Traditional management of plastic remains linear (production-use-disposal),
although nowadays more attention is given to the circular economy, which emphasizes the
value in waste, and is supported by technological innovations in recycling and reprocessing of
plastic (Walker and Xanthos, 2018).

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Private sector companies have taken note of the plastic problem, and many have responded with
efforts to reduce excessive plastic or launch market products made of recycled plastic (Vince and
Hardesty, 2017). Startups and entrepreneurs have also capitalized on the public attention, one
example is luxury goods, such as sunglasses, made with recovered ocean plastic. These products
and initiatives are examples of business models attempting to provide an environmental service
while also capturing revenue, often called sustainable business models. Since plastic is a
material used in almost every industry, there exists a wide range of business models that
incorporate plastic directly or indirectly within their value structure. It has been found that
sustainable plastic business models most often tackle the recycle level of the waste hierarchy
(55%), with fewer examples capturing plastic from the environment (16%), prevention (11%)
or reusing plastic materials (9%) (Hanna et al., 2020).

THE “R” STRATEGY IN PLASTIC WASTE MANAGEMENT

The “5R” strategies of plastic waste management are:

1. Refuse
2. Reduce
3. Reuse
4. Repurpose
5. Recycle
Refuse of plastics involves ‘refuse’ using waste that one doesn’t ultimately need or would turn
out wasteful.

Reduce of plastics is all about reducing the use of plastics, which can be achieved by limiting
our dependency on plastics.

Reuse of plastics involves less dependency on single use plastics such as cups, straws, gloves
and now masks and seeking for alternatives plastics that can be used more than once.

Repurpose of plastics involves the alternative use of plastic materials for more purposes than
they were originally meant, instead of disposing them indiscriminately and uncontrollably.

Recycling of plastics refers to the process of converting plastic wastes into reusable materials.

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 3. Framework On Plastic Management In The Niger delta

Infrastructural development: e.g., Access to portable water will reduce the reliance of many
families on sachet water.

Plastics are reported to be a major environmental pollutant This is largely because plastics are
used in our everyday living as they are readily, available cheap and easy to use. With
technological advancement and economic growth, plastic production continues unabated. In
every household, plastic wastes account for more than 10% of the total wastes that are produced
every day (Rajmohan et al., 2019). .

In Nigeria, sachet water and bottle water form the bulk of plastic waste (Yalwaji et al., 2022)
This is as a result of the unavailability of clean, safe and drinkable water in the homes. Even in
homes where there is running water, the water quality is not safe for drinking as such, people
resort to using sachet and bottled water. In some rural areas, people depend entirely on water
from Rivers and streams that are miles away from their residence, to store up water for future
use, these rural residents acquire large plastic buckets some of which are not durable and are
indiscriminately disposed of when broken, and quickly replaced to avoid water shortage. These
actions daily add to the bulk of plastic waste in the country. With the awakening to the harmful
effects of plastic to the environment and human health, there is a need to manage plastic waste,
and Infrastructural development is eminent for the management of plastic. According to Thacker
et al., 2019, infrastructure includes physical assets in the five categories of infrastructure (energy,
transport, digital communications, water and waste management) as well as the human and
governance systems that are necessary to sustainably deliver services from those assets.
Infrastructure systems form the backbone of every society, providing essential services that
include energy, water, waste management, transport and telecommunications. (Thacker et al.,
2019).

Water is an essential when it comes to human existence, as such it is a huge market. In the Niger
delta where clean, safe and drinkable water are not readily available and accessible, water
production companies who strive on the use of plastics are patronized daily. The availability and
access to facilities that dispense safe and drinkable water in homes will reduce production and
use of sachet and bottled water, hence reducing the bulk of plastic waste disposed daily. The need

7
for plastic buckets for water storage, will also greatly diminish. Infrastructural development is
indispensable in the management of plastics in the Niger delta.

As the world is moving away from the use of plastics, in cases where its use is inevitable,
developed countries put measures in place to recycle plastic. Value addition and wealth creation
pathways such as reuse and recycling has been advocated for waste management (Olukanni et al.
2018). Recycling plastic waste has proven effective in the management of plastics in developed
and developing countries. There is a dearth in plastic recycling plants In Nigeria, plastics are
dumped indiscriminately even when disposed of in waste sites, they are either burnt or left
unrecycled. For proper plastic management, there is an urgent need to finance and/or build
infrastructure that will aid waste collection and the recycling, repurposing, and reusing of
plastics (Jambeck et al., 2018) in the Niger Delta.

b) Public awareness campaigns on the dangers of plastics on the environment

It is common practice for people to throw out plastic bottles, food packets and water from a
moving vehicle in this region without consideration to what happens afterwards. There appears
to be a lack of awareness of the harm posed by unsanitary waste habits, which may engender
poor waste management behaviors among different groups (Ike et al., 2018), there must be a
level of awareness or knowledge of microplastic litter before an individual or group can take any
action toward practically reducing how their behavior contributes to plastic litter (i.e., toward
solving the problem).

In the case of the Niger Delta people have to first be aware of the problem of plastic pollution if
they are to change their behavior (although research has shown that knowledge alone is not
sufficient to encourage behavior change (Nisbet & Gick, 2008). Thus, according to
environmental psychologists, there is a need for people to be motivated and feel concerned about
the environment in order to take necessary action that will mitigate plastic pollution (Steg 2015).
Another essential step is to design special evidence-based education that will create awareness of
the dangers of plastic pollution and effect change among Nigerians. Elsewhere, this measure has
facilitated the reduction of debris in the marine environment (Dumbili & Henderson, 2020)

Designing evidence-based educational or interactive programs that can help create awareness of
the problem of plastic pollution and the collective responsibility for solving it should be

8
encouraged. Creating awareness would trigger more extensive public/societal engagement with
plastic pollution and how it may be addressed collectively. This is evidenced in a study
conducted in Europe, where educators and students were empowered in regard to how to engage
with plastic litter to solve the problem through an online training course and educational video
competition on marine debris (Hartley et al., 2018) At the end of the course, Educators felt more
able and confident to include marine litter in their teaching while students felt more concerned
about marine litter, had a better understanding of the issue, causes and impacts, and reported
performing more waste reduction behaviors (Backhaus & Wagner, 2018).

Plastic collection: Recommended methods/techniques that could be applied to mop up

circulating plastics and prevent them from ending up in landfills or the ocean.

Plastic companies pump in plastic products into the society with no measures in place to retrieve
and recycle them, hence, citizens resort to their own means discarding them on lands and using
them as land fill or rely on the inefficient system of waste management in the Niger Delta. These
actions call for a structured system of plastic collection in the Niger Delta to halt the ongoing
land degradation.

Plastic collection which entails the physical act of picking up or taking actual physical custody of
plastic waste and placing such material in an approved mode of transportation with the purpose
of removing the waste from its location (Lawsider, 2023), cannot be dissociated from solid waste
collection in Nigeria, this is because of the method of waste storage by household and industries
in the country. An average household in Nigeria store solid waste which is a combination of
plastic and other waste products and dispose of them in strategic legal and illegal site resulting in
heaps of indiscriminately disposed waste which are common sites in the Niger Delta.

Solid Waste Management (SWM) in Nigeria is under the purview of Ministry of Environment at
the Federal and State levels and Environmental Health Department at Local Government level
under established legislations and guidelines relating to waste management. (Nwosu, &
Chukwueloka, 2020), although, waste collection actually starts from the households who store
them, there is a strategic pattern employed by government agencies to collect waste. According
to Bakere (2020), of the over 32 million tons of solid waste generated in Nigeria yearly, only a
fraction is collected, this points out a lacuna in government collection strategy, hence, the need
for adoption of a better and efficient strategy of waste collection.

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To this effect, several scholars (Imam et al., 2008; Ogwueleka, 2009; Solomon, 2009) have
identified the problems and recommended solutions, but owing to increasing urbanization,
industrialization, large area of land to cover, the population of Nigeria, bureaucratic nature of
government policies and its implementation, government jurisdiction and high dependence on
capital (capital intensive) (Anestina et al., 2014), these strategies seem to be failing. A typical
Waste collection strategy in Nigeria as identified by Udoh and Inyang (2016) involves; singular
dumpsite, singular type of waste receptacle used for all categories of waste, use of any size of bin
without consideration to population size and informal private solid waste collectors. These
methods lead to open receptacles, overflow of waste causing pollution and posing health risk.
Authorized agencies collect accumulated waste from strategic legal dumpsites (waste heaps at
illegal dumpsites are left unattended to) and transport them in bin lorries to dumpsite where they
supposed to be treated but as observe by Kofoworola (2007), waste treatment in Nigeria does not
exist, instead solid waste are burnt to reduce the quantity, constituting more environmental
hazards or are used as landfills. Although, there has been improvements in SWM in Lagos state
(Solomon, 2009; Ezeah & Roberts, 2014), SWM is similar across the country and overall,
inefficient.

It is common knowledge that government strategies to collect waste have been ineffective, to
remedy the short comings of government, Egbu & Okoroigwe, (2015) proposed the patronage of
informal street waste collector A public-private partnership was also encouraged by Aliu et al.
(2014). Hammed et al., (2016), suggested the synergy of stakeholder to sensitize and
communicate sustainable waste management strategies. Cost sharing between government and
the people as well as enforcement of sanitation laws, awareness campaigns and proper funding
for authorised waste management agencies (Oloruntade et al., 2014).

In Nigeria, researchers commonly focus on solid waste management in general without particular
attention to plastics, this is largely because of the waste collection (where there is no segregation)
method employed in the country, as such there is a dearth in the available resource on plastic
management even though it accounts for the highest share of non-biodegradable waste in Nigeria
(Hoornweg & Bhada-Tata, 2012). According to UNEP (2014), only about 8% of plastic materials
are currently recovered through recycling, the most part is landfilled while a small fraction ends

10
up in Oceans, streams and Rivers. Since plastic waste is a major constituent of solid waste, it is
necessary that strategies are put in place to collect them.

The reduce, reuse and recycle approach has been proposed, accepted and promoted by most
researchers (Iheaturu et al. 2021; Nwosu, & Chukwueloka, 2020) this approach involve various
techniques for storage, collection, processing transportation, segregation and treatment or
disposal of plastic waste to prevent them from ending up in landfills and oceans. There has been
emphasis on waste segregation as a must to achieve effective plastic waste collection. Waste
segregation is the separation of various components of solid waste typically based on their origin
(Serranti & Bonifazi, 2019) segregation has been recommended for effective plastic collection
(Nyakuma & Ivase, 2021)

In developed countries, waste segregation most times starts at the dumpsites. Various
technologies have been employed to segregate waste for plastic collection (Nyakuma & Ivase,
2021), the most common method is manual hand picking, macro and micro sorting, these
methods have been associated with healthy and safety hazards such as contagious diseases and
physical injury as such other innovative methods have been proposed and adopted such
innovative technology include; use of colour, shape, origin, texture, particle size, density, class
distribution, magnetic and electrical properties to enhance waste separation efficiency, and
recycling rates (Tarun et al., 2019). The high cost of implementation of these techniques are
drawbacks for its application.

Pereira et al., (2019) proposed the introduction of smart bins to aid plastic waste collection.
Smart bins have multiple features and its main feature is garbage segregation, he proposed that
smart bins should be designed to have four compartments; for plastic waste, for wet waste, for
dry waste and waste water from the auto clean feature, an ultrasound sensor and many other
features. There is lack of knowledge about segregation of waste at the domestic level, hence in
recent times there has been massive advocacy for waste to be segregated from source, that is
from the very point where they are generated.

In the Niger delta, effective plastic management must start with government agencies delegated
with such duties. Individuals do not have the right to collect and dispose waste as this is solely
the duty of government. As it seems the government agencies are overwhelmed with waste
collection in the Niger delta, there should be partnership with private institutions to help collect

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waste. Besides waste collection, there is the issue of what happens afterwards, the usually
burning and using of waste as landfills has failed especially since there is no segregation before
waste is disposed. To collect plastic waste, adequate infrastructures should be put in place and
trained personnels should be recruited into the agencies to boost manpower.

The door-to-door collection of by bin lorries from strategically placed garbage bins adopted by
most developed countries should be encourage instead of the open dumping on roads that is
currently in practice although, this method will be challenge by the lack of house planning in the
Niger Delta, since some streets cannot be accessed because of too small routes, bad roads and
scattered housing patterns. regardless of these challenges this method should be adopted in cities.
Following recent trends, garbage bins are been labelled to indicate which type of waste goes into
which, this has helped with waste segregation and has made easy recycling and other waste
treatment methods this should also be practiced in the Niger Delta. Proper plastic collection
without measures put in place to reduce, reuse and recycle them will undermine plastic collection
efforts, hence the government should review existing laws and enact laws that encourage the
reduction and reuse of plastics, also punishments for offenders should be spelt out, infrastructure
for plastic recycling should also be installed.

If all the appropriate measures are put in place, by the government and the citizens are not
informed, government effort will become useless, it is expedient that the people of Niger delta
are aware of plastic pollution, its dangers, proper collection and disposal methods. There should
be massive enlightenment campaigns to educate people on the benefit of waste segregation from
source, this is the most efficient way to collect plastic waste. Waste should be sorted from the
point where it is generated into biodegradable and non-biodegradable waste before dumping.
Efficient plastic collection in the Niger Delta, will take a long time before it can be achieved, so,
measures should be put in place now to facilitate the realization of an efficient and sustainable
plastic collection process.

b. Token system of plastic collection. E.g, plastics for items, school fees, etc. Itemize case
studies.

In a bid to reduce the footprint of plastic waste on the environment the use of plastics as tokens
for exchange has been introduced. several models have been proposed, one of which is the
rebound plastic exchange (RPX). RPX is a market place to buy and sell recycled plastics. This

12
market place was proposed to help countries who do not have the manufacturing capacity to use
recycled plastic. This market will encourage growth of the recycling industry therefore, causing a
demand for plastics hence reducing plastic in the as well as serving as a center for plastic barter.
(Mansoor, 2022)

Mondal & Kulkarni, (2022) proposed a blockchain-based decentralized application through

which organizations can collect plastics from anyone and track them in a timely manner. There
will be non-monetary reward systems, but it can be greatly incentivized the users to recycle the
plastics. Thus, a Blockchain-based distributed management system with a right incentive
structure can help bridge the gap between users and organizations, and help towards reducing the
footprint of plastic waste.

Furthermore, the use of plastics as a currency for food and other items and services have
emerged in some developing countries. Exchanging food for plastic waste will help tackle plastic
pollution and poverty simultaneously. A recent case of plastic barter is an initiative by the
Nishkam Khalsa Sewa and the alumni groups of Goethals Memorial School in Siliguri. In this
case food is provided in exchange for 500grams of plastic waste which comprises of bottles, bags
and other plastic items. (Iyer, 2018). The Surabaya Scheme in Indonesia, which is the second
largest marine polluter initiated the exchange of plastics for services, according to this initiative,
people could exchange plastic waste for a bus ride. Three large bottles, five medium ones or ten
plastic cups can be exchanged for an hour ride, this scheme has recorded success with high
participation (Iyer, 2018).

In Rome, automated machines programmed to collect waste were installed at metro stations, for
every trash collected the machine issues online credit to their tickets purchasing application such
as MyCicero and TabNet with which passengers could redeem a ticket. Each bottle could be
valued at 0.05euro in credit. A unique school forum, Akshar in Pamohi, collect waste once or
thrice every week in exchange for taught lessons. The plastics are then use to build make shift
bricks by stuffing packets and wrappers in bottles, these are used to build walkways in the
school. of all the plastic management strategy, the plastic barter system has been more successful
because it is a win-win for everyone and it is rapidly been adopted by many countries (Iyer,
2018).

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The plastic barter system will be a good initiative in the Niger Delta, considering the level of
poverty and the high demand for goods and services. Wealth lies waste in every neighborhood of
the Niger Delta.

Business opportunities in sustainable plastic management with case studies (Collection,

processing, etc.)

plastic management involves the collection, transportation and processing of plastic waste.
Following the awakening to the now and future problems posed by plastic pollution, there is a
global effort toward plastic waste management. The reduce, reuse and recycle concept has been
initiated for sustainable plastic waste management, the processes involved are sources of wealth
creation considering the amount of plastic waste generated daily (Iheaturu et al. 2021)

In Nigeria some persons have taken plastic collection and recycling as a business venture, these
persons are referred to as “wastepreneurs”, Ade Dagunduro, stands out as a wasteprenur who
uses plastic wastes to make works of art that are exhibited and sold for money, his first work in
2016 was an Ox made from tyre. Combining metal and plastic waste Ade Dagunduro has
advance in his business and has recorded huge success. Ade lasisi, is also a Nigerian
“wastepreneur” who makes school bags. Slippers, bags, mats, cloths by weaving nylon water
sachets, this has expanded and attracted grants from donor home and abroad to train young
persons in the use of plastic for wealth creation (Amogunla, 2021).

The common practice of plastic collection in the Niger delta is through pick up by bin lorries
after dumping in over flowing garbage bin or on the road side. Plastic waste in the Niger Delta is
overwhelming and the common practice is inefficient, hence, this process can and has been
maximized by private bodies to generate wealth. In some areas in the Niger delta informal waste
collectors go from door-to-door to pick up household waste in minitrucks, for this they are paid
fixed amount of money, generating wealth and creating employment for bin collectors. Also,
recent trend of plastic barter should be encouraged in the Niger Delta, although this will be a
very intensive project, plastic recycling organizations can collect and exchange waste for
incentives, goods or services, this method of plastic collection will reduce poverty as well as
create employment in the Niger Delta.

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c) Human Population Management

Population growth has a causal relationship with plastic waste management in cities because the

aggregation of human settlements has the potential to produce a large amount of solid waste,

which is one of the challenges facing any urban area in the world. Thus, it has had a significant

impact on the economic, social, and political aspects of any country, as there is an interaction

with public education, health and welfare, and the quality of the environment in which people

live (Adewole, 2012). It is pertinent to state that in Nigeria, there has not been any meaningful

population control measure as there is no documented evidence of population-controlled goals

and strategies being executed (Akanwa, Anyanwu and Ossai Onah 2013)

Across the Nigerian States, it has been observed that cities exercise enormous control over

national economies, as they provide jobs, and access to the best cultural, educational, and health

facilities, and they act as a hub for communication and transport, which are necessary conditions

for the economic development of any nation. Thus, rural-urban migration that occurs in these

cities has generated large quantities of waste and concentrated pollution as well as social

hardship ( Atama, Anugwom and Asu 2014).

In order to manage Nigeria's population, the government must take the correct steps to offer the

necessities in rural regions in order to reduce rural-urban movement, as well as the necessary

safeguards for efficient border and seashore checks. Social security will remain a significant

concern in Nigeria until both in-migration and out-migration are severely curbed. The

requirement for proper training of specialists in population concerns has also been mentioned by

15
Okore (2003). It takes qualified individuals who can explain current population issues, recognize

their effects, and give workable solutions to manage Nigeria's population.

Bans on the production of certain single-use plastics like plastic bags (a case study of
Rwanda and Kenya).
The spread and awareness of the importance of plastic management has prompted countries in
the world to take actions and make stringent rules to combat plastic pollution. There has been an
anti-plastic policy gaining attention globally and developing countries in Africa are not left out
of this move. East Africa countries such as Kenya and Rwanda have been at the forefront of this
movement (Behuria, 2021).

In 2017, Kenya resolved to combat plastic pollution, with the goal of total eradication by June
2020. To achieve this goal, there has been a joint action by the county governments, as well as
association of between national government entities such as the Kenya Revenue Authority
(KRA) and National Environment Management Authority Manufacturers (NEMA). The
government of Kenya adopted a comprehensive strategy involving government regulations,
private company innovations and individual actions. These strategies were adopted following the
failure of previous strategies to achieve implementation on the ban of plastic. The launch of this
strategy through Gazette Notice No. 2334, in 2017, limited the manufacture, importation, and use
of single use plastics. The ban on plastic in Kenya has been heralded globally as it has been
effective and successful. Reports has it that there is an 80% compliance with the ban of plastics
in Kenya.

Although Kenya adopted the plastic ban before Rwanda, Rwanda’s implementation of the ban on
plastic has been globally commended as there is total ban on all single-use plastics, making it the
first country in the eastern African region to do so. This great success is attributed to a draft
law adopted by the Rwandan Cabinet which barred the manufacture, use, and sale of plastic
items. To drive the success of this law, Rwanda has stipulated penalties and employed the help of
police to crack down manufactures and importers at border post.

Owing to the non-biodegradable property of plastic items, researchers and environmentalist are
advocating for the use of alternative items. Plastic items are essential in the day to activities of

16
man, especially plastic bags, since the use of plastic has become an environmental issue there is
need to create items that can be used in the stead of plastics using biodegradable materials.
Biodegradable alternatives to plastics exist some of which includes paper, jute, wool, nypa,
fabric, bio-plastic. Paper is made from wood which is an environment friendly forest resource,
although the production of paper can be detrimental to the environment, because of
deforestation, it is an eco-friendlier material than plastic, jute is a plant product made from jute
plant commonly known as “Ewedu” in Nigeria, wool is obtained from animals and is readily
biodegradable. Alternative materials have been in use in rural communities, but have not been
incorporated into the daily lives of people in urban cities. Contrary to some believes these
alternatives can be used severally and fashioned to serve specific purposes (Gill, 2014;
Iheukwumere et al., 2021)

The most recent innovation in the pursuit for alternatives to plastic are bio-plastics. Bio plastics
are made from natural resources; hence, they are degradable. It is made using a combination of
materials with differing properties and applications. It can be made from micro-organisms,
vegetable oil, starch and other plant materials. There are reports that bioplastics are not entirely
biodegradable and should be improve on (Iheukwumere et al., 2021). Plastic alternatives are the
best solution to the degradation caused by single use plastics and should be encouraged

17
 Plastic Management in the Niger Delta

Non-Governmental
Government
Organization

Bans

Mandatory Recycling
Enlightenment
lying

Promoting Deposit Increase the price of

Refund system Plastic Product

1. A tax based n
Door to Door environmental Performance
Information
2. Subsides for Research and
Innovation

A Framework for the Management of Plastic in the Niger Delta

18
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