TheCable

Mahmood Abubakar, minister of environment, says the federal government is developing a national policy for proper management of hazardous waste.

Abubakar said this on Tuesday, during the policy draft validation workshop held in Abuja.

He said the federal government has also established a permit scheme that allows processing and export of waste batteries for recycling.

“The government of Nigeria is deeply committed to its obligations under the Basel convention [an agreement by countries on proper management of hazardous waste] on issues of managing hazardous and other wastes,” Abubakar said.

“In this regard, government has put in place a permitting scheme, which allows hazardous waste that Nigeria does not have the local capacity to handle, to be exported to countries that have the technical capacity to manage them in an environmentally-sound manner.

“It is against this backdrop that the federal ministry of environment and GIZ are developing this policy to ensure environmentally-sound management of waste batteries in Nigeria.”

The minister, who stated that batteries contain heavy metals which have health implications, said he would ensure that the federal executive council (FEC) approves the policy. 

On her part, Sharon Ikeazor, minister of state for environment, said the policy is important because Nigeria generates huge quantities of waste batteries annually, and instead of disposing them in an “unwholesome” manner, there is need to recycle them into making new batteries and other products. 

Duke Benjamin, programme director, Nigerian Energy Support Programme (NESP), said the policy will support a formal way of managing waste and also help to boost the recycling business in the private sector, thereby creating jobs and preventing health hazards.