By NEXTER
The Global Initiative for Food Security and Ecosystem Preservation (GIFSEP) and stakeholders in Nasarawa State have tasked the state government on the need to evolve a policy that will promote waste-to-wealth opportunities, attract private sector investment, create jobs, and support climate action.
At a Validation Workshop on the Draft Nasarawa State Waste Management Policy in Lafia, they advocated for the utilization of the state’s rising waste which currently stands at 730,000 tonnes for the benefit of the people through a robust policy.
LEADERSHIP reports that GIFSEP, in collaboration with the UNDP Global Environment Facility (GEF) Small Grants Programme, is implementing “Waste to Wealth: Harnessing Bio-Waste Value to Enhance Climate-Smart Agricultural Production and Sustainable Livelihoods” in Nasarawa state.
“Strong state-level policies can improve waste collection and recycling systems, promote waste-to-wealth opportunities, attract private sector investment, create jobs, and support climate action.
“And also strengthen coordination among communities, businesses, and government institutions,” GIFSEP’s Executive Director, Dr David Michael, said.
He noted that Nigeria generates an estimated 32 million tonnes of municipal solid waste annually, with only 20–40 per cent formally collected, while the rest is openly dumped, burned, or discharged into the environment.
“In Nasarawa State, it is estimated that between 1,500 and 2,000 tonnes of solid waste are generated daily, amounting to nearly 730,000 tonnes annually, particularly from urban centres such as Lafia, Keffi, Karu and Nasarawa LGAs,” stated.
Dr. Michael warned that poor waste management pollutes air, water, and soil, worsens flooding through blocked drainage, creates breeding grounds for disease vectors, and degrades farmland and aquatic ecosystems.
On her part, the Nasarawa State Commissioner for Environment and Natural Resources, Margaret Elayo, said the draft policy aligns with the Climate Change Act 2021 and the Sustainable Development Goals.
Represented by the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Mr Ede Yakubu, the commissioner observed that the existing policy framework on waste management, failed to fully address plastic waste, organic waste and climate-linked waste streams.
She therefore called for the development of a new standard for waste management that can protect public health, safeguards our environment, and creates green jobs for our people.
Also speaking, the National Coordinator of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) – Global Environment Facility (GEF) Small Grant Programme, Dr Ibironke Olubamise, said that the era of viewing waste as mere trash was over.
“Environment does not need us; we need the environment. The environment does not forget, and it does not forgive. What you throw into it comes back to you. This is not a call for only environmentalists—it’s a call for everybody,” she warned.
