By: Kebba AF Touray
The Director of Environment and Climate Change at the ECOWAS Commission, Kofi Bernard, has told the ECOWAS Parliament Joint Committee on Agriculture, Environment and Natural Resources, Energy and Mines, and Infrastructure that Africa is estimated to be the second largest source of plastic pollution in oceans from rivers.
He further warned that if immediate measures are not taken, Africa could become the largest contributor to poorly managed plastic waste globally by 2050.
“The continent is contributing to about 7.8 percent, and could become the largest contributor to poorly managed plastic waste globally by 2050 if measures were not taken to address the issue,” he said.
He urged the ECOWAS Parliamentarians to set up a framework for action to participate in international discussions and negotiations on plastic waste management.
On the other hand, the said Committee implored member states to ensure the adoption and enforcement of stringent regulations to effectively utilize plastic waste for significant economic realization.
The Joint Committee made this recommendation in its report on the delocalized meeting in Winneba, Ghana, on the theme “Plastic Waste Management: Challenges and Prospects in the Implementation of Community Activities.”
The meeting among other things aimed to reflect their shared responsibility to safeguard the environment in the region, as well as the health and future generations of the region.
It also aimed at creating awareness of the strategies developed by ECOWAS towards environmental friendliness and effective management of plastic waste.
He emphasized the need for member states to integrate their plastic waste management regulations and develop policies to raise public awareness about the dangers of plastic waste.
The committee, however, charged member states to as a matter of urgency create dedicated funds to support a circular economy for plastic waste treatment.
“The Committee also called on member states to urgently adopt provision, with the ultimate goal of harmonizing the effective implementation of existing regulation on plastic products and good environmentally friendly waste management,” the joint committee report stated.
The report further disclosed that the committee recommended that the ECOWAS Authority instruct governments to implement Regulation C/REG.17/23.
According to the committee, in its report, the regulation focuses on establishing common standards for plastic products, banning certain single-use plastics, and ensuring manufacturers take responsibility for the entire lifecycle of their products, from collection to recycling and disposal.
The regulation also mandates the labelling of plastic products to provide information on material composition and recyclability.
The committee has also challenged member states to harmonize their respective regulations on the treatment and management of plastic waste as well as design policy to raise awareness among populations on the dangers associated with plastic waste.
“The committee recommended that the ECOWAS Authority instructs member states to create funds to be dedicated to organizing a circular economy for plastic waste treatment,” the statement issued by ECOWAS added.
