The Director General of National Environmental Standards and Regulation Enforcement Agency (NESREA), Dr. Lawrence Anukam, has said plans are on to develop a law to regulate hospital waste across the country.
Dr. Anukam told Daily Trust in Abuja that, hospital waste had become a serious issue as it was dumped anywhere with some having contaminated needles and other items.
He said the agency has developed 34 regulations in various sectors of the environment but it was not exhaustive, adding that “As issues arise, we also develop regulation to accommodate them.”
NESREA, according to him, through its Extended Producers Responsibility (EPR) programme is managing the issue of waste in such a way that it would not affect the environment.
He said the programme ensured that manufacturers have responsibility beyond the product but to see that at the end of their product life, they come out with how to manage the waste.
While noting that lack of funds has been an impediment, he said the agency had been ensuring the management of waste in various factories and planned to extend that to electronic waste, batteries and tyres.
He however noted that the agency was working with National Assembly to review the law on sanctioning, which he said is weak.
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