By Chika Okeke
The National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency, NESREA, has opposed the decision of Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, MAN, to suspend the National Environmental (Plastic Waste Control) Regulations, 2026.
This followed a recent publication attributed to MAN, indicating that the regulations will cause immediate disruption to manufacturing operations, impose a blanket 80-micron ban on all single-use plastics, and threaten jobs and investments.
In a chat with Nigerian Pilot on Wednesday, the Director-General/Chief Executive Officer of NESREA, Prof. Innocent Barikor hinted that the policy was not designed to shut down industries, undermine investments or impose abrupt burdens on manufacturers.
“Rather, they are a national environmental and circular economy instrument intended to reduce plastic pollution, strengthen producer accountability, stimulate recycling markets, improve waste recovery, promote innovation in packaging design and create new economic opportunities within Nigeria’s emerging circular economy.
“The regulations were made pursuant to the powers conferred by the NESREA Act and have been duly gazetted as subsidiary legislation, as they provide a structured, phased and consultative framework for managing plastic products and plastic waste across the entire value chain.”
Blanket 80-micron ban
The 80-micron provision in regulation 26 relates specifically to certain plastic bags made from plastic film. It does not amount to a blanket prohibition on all plastic packaging, nor does it ban all single-use plastic products across the food, beverage, pharmaceutical, agricultural, logistics or manufacturing sectors.
Barikor kicked against the notion that the regulations imposed a blanket 80-micron ban on all single-use plastics, adding that it made a clear distinction between plastic carrier bags, other plastic packaging, PET containers, products with plastic components, recyclable materials and plastic waste management activities.
He said: “Packaging applications in sensitive sectors are addressed under separate provisions with different compliance pathways.
“It is therefore misleading to present the regulations as a wholesale ban on all plastic packaging or all single-use plastics. The focus is on eliminating the most problematic, low-value, easily littered and difficult-to-recover plastic materials while guiding industry towards improved design, recovery, reuse, recycling and responsible end-of-life management.”
Threaten Jobs
NESREA acknowledged the importance of protecting jobs and investment, though the bigger risk to the industry is continued unmanaged plastic pollution, weak recovery systems, poor waste data, rising environmental liabilities, blocked drainage systems, marine litter, public health risks and the loss of valuable materials that could otherwise feed domestic recycling industries.
The DG disclosed that the regulations are intended to create new investment opportunities in collection, aggregation, sorting, recycling, recycled-content production, packaging innovation, eco-design, logistics, data systems and compliance services.
He stated that rather than destroy jobs, a properly implemented circular plastics framework can expand employment across the formal and informal waste sectors, support small and medium enterprises, strengthen recycling value chains and create demand for locally sourced secondary raw materials.
“The regulations also provide regulatory certainty. Investors are more likely to commit capital to recycling and circular economy infrastructure where there is a clear national framework requiring producer participation, material recovery, data reporting and recycled-content uptake,” he added
Production Costs
Plastic pollution imposes hidden costs on government, communities and businesses through flooding, drainage blockage, public sanitation burdens, environmental degradation, health risks, tourism losses and clean-up costs.
Barikor dismissed claims that the regulations will increase production costs and consumer prices, but guided by the polluter-pays principle saying that those who placed plastic products and packaging on the market must share responsibility for their recovery and environmentally sound management.
“This is not a punitive approach. It is a globally recognised economic principle that internalises environmental costs and drives innovation. It also reduces the unfair burden currently borne by the government and the public, who pay for the environmental consequences of products placed on the market without adequate recovery systems.
“By encouraging local recycling, local sourcing of recycled PET, design-for-recyclability and producer responsibility organisation systems, the regulations can reduce long-term dependence on virgin raw materials, improve material efficiency and strengthen domestic circular economy markets,” he said.
