As we draw closer to the festive season, actress and OPS-WASH ambassador – Stephanie Linus is encouraging increased recycling of plastic waste which happens to be an incredibly significant cause of environmental and health hazards in our communities.
With more than 32 million metric tonnes of waste generated in Nigeria annually, and a disturbing habit of improper disposal of this waste, there is an urgent need to address this problem. The founder of Hygiene First campaign and a strong advocate for proper environmental protection has encouraged Nigerians to embrace recycling as a means of turning bottles, packaging and other post consumer packaging waste into new products. According to her, we can prevent ourselves from harming our environment and needlessly overfilling our landfills by simply giving up our plastic waste for recycling.
The Christmas holiday season is usually characterized by increased generation of waste especially plastic waste across the country. From individually packaged food servings to beverage bottles, more plastic waste is generated during this season than ever before. Mrs. Linus is encouraging Nigerians to lean more towards recycling as a means of proper disposal of plastic waste.
In addition to the benefits of protecting our environment, recycling plastics helps us conserve natural resources and creates new economic opportunities for our population. For easier participation, interested residents are encouraged to register with a recycling venture near you or take the plastic waste to a drop-off site within your community.
“We consumers play a critical role than we can imagine,” she said. “Recycling makes a huge difference to our environment, our quality of life, and our country’s future.”