By Chinelo Obogo
Stakeholders in Nigeria’s manufacturing and waste management sectors have applauded the Nigerian Bottling Company Limited (NBC) for its initiatives aimed at optimising plastic packaging and waste management in the country.
Speaking during a annual NBC stakeholders’ forum, themed: “Packaging and Waste Management: Key Drivers, Challenges and Solutions,” they commended the company for leading efforts to ensure the eradication of plastic waste in the country.
The keynote speaker and Special Adviser to the Ogun State Government on Environment, Ola Oresanya, applauded NBC for holding the forum which he said will go a long way in entrenching the culture of internal self-regulation in the fight against waste.
“I want to congratulate NBC for their consideration for the environment. In putting together this forum for open conversations around issues affecting the environment, NBC has demonstrated its commitment towards finding a solution to the issue of waste management in Nigeria. This is commendable because not many manufacturers have this kind of forum where the facts can be laid out,” he said.
Special guest of honour at the virtual session and Minister of Environment, Mahmood Abubakar, represented by the Director of Pollution Control and Environmental Health, Charles Ikeah, commended the company for being at the forefront of the fight against environmental waste.
Abubakar highlighted the Federal Government’s commitment to awareness creation, enforcement of relevant regulations as well as provision of an enabling environment for private sector participation.
President of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Ahmed Mansur, urged other organisations, particularly in the manufacturing sector, to emulate NBC’s ambitious commitment to rid the environment of plastic wastes and prioritise the lifecycle of their packaging materials in their production processes.
In his remarks, NBC Managing Director, Matthieu Seguin, said the company will continue to collaborate with key stakeholders in the plastic packaging and waste management value-chain to ensure challenges in the waste management ecosystem are converted to viable economic opportunities for Nigeria’s teeming population.