The co-founder and chief executive of PETsPoint Recycling Nigeria, Mr Sunday Kolawole Sholanke, has blamed poor waste management culture for the country’s plastic waste crisis.
According to him, the volume of plastic waste in Nigeria is alarming, putting estimates on the country’s waste generation to about 596 million metric tonnes annually, with 88 per cent of it neither reclaimed nor recycled.
Speaking at an event hosted by Unity Bank Plc to mark 2025 World Environment Day recently, the climate activist said Nigeria remains one of the highest contributors to global plastic waste pollution.
“Nigeria ranks as the 9th highest contributor to global plastic pollution. Much of Nigeria’s plastic waste ends up in landfills, drainage systems, and water bodies, causing extensive environmental damage and posing serious health risks,” he explained.
“Over one million plastic bottles and 10 million plastic bags are produced every minute. In 2020 alone, eight million tons of plastic bottles were produced globally, with less than 30 per cent collected and under 10 per cent recycled. The rest is dumped, burned, or abandoned in the environment, worsening risks of flooding, climate disruption, and disease,” Mr Sholanke added.
He also identified low public awareness, and lack of community collection infrastructure as major factors aggravating the Nigeria’s plastic waste crisis.
Calling on the financial services sector to be more proactive, Mr Sholanke urged banks to invest in green financing by increasing access to affordable credit for green businesses and eco-friendly initiatives.
The Unity Bank webinar also had other guests like the co-founder and chief executive of Street Waste Company Limited, Omoh Alokwe, who emphasised the role of regulators in strengthening enforcement and updating policy frameworks to reduce harmful practices that fuel the global plastic crisis.
Further, the Head of Strategy and Innovation at Unity Bank, Mr Ibukun Coker, emphasized the lender’s commitment to sustainable practices and environmental protection, highlighting the role of the financial sector in driving meaningful change.
“Plastic pollution is not just an environmental issue, it is an economic and public health crisis,” said Mr Coker. “At Unity Bank, we believe that sustainability should be more than a policy; it must be embedded in how we operate, the projects we finance, and the partnerships we build.”