04/09/2026
FG UNVEILS NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL (PLASTIC WASTE CONTROL) REGULATIONS, 2026
The Federal Government has unveiled the National Environmental (Plastic Waste Control) Regulations, 2026, in a renewed drive to address the growing challenge of plastic pollution and promote sustainable environmental management across the country.
The Regulations were unveiled on Thursday in Abuja by the Honourable Minister of Environment, Mallam Balarabe Abbas Lawal. The event also featured a Stakeholder Implementation Dialogue and the Inaugural Multi-Stakeholder Roundtable on “Less Plastic in Water”, and brought together key stakeholders to discuss effective strategies for implementing the new Regulations.
Delivering the keynote address, the Minister emphasized that the Regulations provide a comprehensive and enforceable framework for managing plastics throughout their life cycle.
Speaking through the Permanent Secretary, Dr. Salihu Aminu Usman, the Minister said, “Today, we are drawing a line. A line between a Nigeria where plastic waste is treated as somebody else's problem and a Nigeria where every actor in the plastics value chain accepts responsibility for what they produce, import, sell, use or discard. These Regulations are not just an environmental project. They are an economic project, a jobs project, and a nation-building project. The unveiling is the easy part. Implementation is where history will judge us.”
He called on industry to design for recyclability, consumers to consume responsibly, and recyclers to invest and scale up, in line with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda for a cleaner, healthier and more prosperous Nigeria.
The Director General of the National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency, NESREA, Prof. Innocent Barikor, noted that successful implementation of the Regulations demands multi-stakeholder collaboration. Consequently, a Stakeholder Implementation Dialogue and the Inaugural Multi-Stakeholder Roundtable on the Plastic Reboot Nigeria Project were convened during the event.
“The success of the Regulations will ultimately not be measured by the number of provisions in the Gazette, but by what changes on the ground: less plastic entering our waterways and communities, more materials being recovered and returned to productive use, greater producer responsibility, stronger recycling markets and more sustainable alternatives to avoidable single-use plastics,” Prof. Barikor said.
Also speaking, the Deputy Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Environment, Hon. Terseer Ugbor, highlighted the report of the public hearing and engagements held by the House of Representatives Ad-Hoc Committee on the Preparedness for the Single-Use Plastic Ban in Nigeria.
He said that by utilizing a phased roadmap supported by green fiscal incentives, the House of Representatives, working with regulators, can protect national infrastructure while preserving industrial stability.
The Chairman of the Governing Council of NESREA, Hon. Garba Datti Mohammed, emphasized the need for collective action by government, industry, Producer Responsibility Organisations, recyclers, states, development partners and citizens to ensure the successful implementation of the Regulations.
He advocated for practical, innovative and economically sustainable alternatives suited to Nigeria’s realities.
In their separate goodwill messages, the European Union Delegation to Nigeria and ECOWAS, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), UNIDO, the Nigeria National Plastic Action Partnership, and the Food and Beverage Recycling Alliance congratulated NESREA on the unveiling of the Regulations, while pledging support for their successful implementation.
