Phasing out ozone depleting substances

Nigeria’s forecast last year was to sustain the environment and protect it from unfriendly elements and activities. Though, so many pronouncements and projects have been infused into the process in order to avert the looming energy and climate crisis. These are expected to cut down on energy poverty, reduce the congestion on the national grid, sustain the environment and improve the health of the people.
The government had set target of 2014 for phasing out candle and kerosene lamps and non-biodegradable plastics and 2015 for trichloroethane substance and methyl bromide respectively. The target for 2014 has been missed, but the right steps have to be put in place to achieve the goals of this year.
The federal government has said it will phase out harmful substances and materials that are environmentally unfriendly as part of its effort to sustain the environment. Most pronouncements made on these are time bound and specific.
However, as year 2014 ran out, facts on the ground showed that a lot needed to be done. The substances and materials that were to be phased out are still prevalent in the society – they  harmful to the environment as well as hazardous to the health of the people.
This year, the Minister of Environment, Mrs. Laurentia L. Mallam, said her ministry plans to phase out the use of candles and kerosene lamps across the country in 12 months and replacing same with clean solar energy lamps that are more environmentally and ozone friendly.
She was deeply concerned about the environmental hazards caused by the use of candles and kerosene lanterns, which sometimes lead to avoidable deaths. The hope was that the switch over from the use of candles and kerosene lanterns would crash the price of kerosene and possibly eliminate the use of candles in Nigeria.
This will help push up the position of Nigeria on the list of ozone friendly nations in line with the aspiration of the country.
Apart from the environmental benefits of the product, it will also go a long way in solving some social, financial and economic challenges associated with the use of kerosene and candles. The goal is to bestow on Nigerians, the legacy of a candle-free country.
However, candles and kerosene lamps are still available in the markets and used in most homes as source of light.
Another goal of the ministry is to phase out non-biodegradable plastics which constitute nuisance or danger to the environment.
The drive to phase out non-biodegradable plastics in the country with the collaboration of UNIDO has been on long before Mallam was appointed minister.
Non-degradable plastics are plastics that either do not break down at all or require mechanical or chemical processes to break down.
Plastic waste accounted for more than 20 per cent of the municipal solid waste in the country. That alone speaks volumes of the magnitude of the problem.
The federal government has recognised that the uncontrolled use of plastic materials and indiscriminate disposal of plastic waste particularly shopping bags and pure water sachets are detrimental to the environment.
In an attempt to reduce the burden of plastic wastes, government is establishing recycling plants in 26 selected cities in Nigeria. The plants are expected to handle a significant volume of the plastics generated in the country.
The fact that these recycling plants are yet to come on board means that plastic waste will continue to cause environmental hazards in the society. This therefore underscores the need to hasten efforts to bring the plants on board. This is one of the tasks before Mallam now.
The ministry has started a programme to phase out the use of trichloroethane substance by 2015 as part of its effort to protect the ozone layer.
Trichloroethane is a solvent used in the cleaning industry and also used as a processing agent.
 Also to be phased out is methyl bromide, a substance used for fumigation and preservation in the agricultural industry. To this effect a target has been set for banning the substances to meet the deadline set by the Montreal Protocol to phase out ozone depleting substances in developing countries.
The ministry, having put in place strategic plans for managing issues in Nigeria, is also to phase down use of dental amalgam towards achieving a mercury free environment.
The phase down of dental amalgam is now a high priority of the government of Nigeria since the country is a signatory to Minamata Convention on Mercury and the phase down of dental amalgam is a provision in the convention.
Mercury is one of the toxic substances of global concern that cause harm to human health, wildlife and ecosystems. Improper disposal of mercury wastes contaminates the environment locally, downstream and globally.
Even though, these are laudable objectives and the government is on course towards achieving the targets some key things need to be done.
The manufacturers of candles, polythene bags and harmful chemicals and other products that are environmentally unfriendly need to be keyed into the set objectives and it should be done as fast as possible.
The government needs to create awareness for the end users of the products and advocate for the use of alternative sources that are environmentally friendly.
This will also require more funding towards continuous publicity campaign to the ministry and other relevant agencies to create enabling law to empower the government organs to enforce such laws.