Stakeholders drawn from the Nigerian environmental sector including its allied agencies have commended Nigerian Breweries Plc – Nigeria’s foremost brewing company for its commitment to ensuring and promoting a sustainable environment in Nigeria through its numerous initiatives.
These opinions were expressed by all the stakeholders at the launch of the NB Recycles Project held at the company’s head office in Iganmu, Lagos on Thursday, August 12.
Under this initiative, various collection points will be set up in all nine brewery locations of Nigerian Breweries across the country (as well as the respective host communities) to encourage staff and members of the public to embrace the habit of recycling by returning all plastic bottles, aluminium cans, paper, cartons, nylon, and glass in exchange for monetary rewards.
In Lagos, the company set up a collection point at its headquarters for staff and also donated four recycling bins to the Ijora community in Lagos to promote community-led plastic recycling and combat plastic pollution in the area.
The NB Recycles project is being executed in partnership with Wecyclers, a foremost waste recycler in Nigeria who will manage the collection, sorting, and recycling of all the plastic wastes brought in by employees and community members.
In his keynote address, the Chief Executive Officer of Nigerian Breweries Plc, Hans Essaadi said the project restates the company’s commitment towards environmental sustainability, especially in the areas of Plastic recovery and Recycling.
Praising the company for its contribution towards plastic recovery and recycling in Nigeria, the Lagos State Commissioner for Environment and Water Resources who was represented by Assistant Director, Lagos State Ministry of Environment and Water Resources, Babajide Adeoye appealed for more resources to be committed to keeping the environment safe.
“In tackling this menace of plastic waste, there is need for a concerted effort between the government and industrial companies such as Nigerian Breweries. A recently concluded research shows that only 8% of plastic is recycled while the remaining 92% ends up in the environment, which is why initiative such as this is very important,” he said.
In her remarks, Chief Scientist Officer, National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA), Ezenwannyi Udechukwu said the initiative deserves commendation as it helps to bring into focus the need to collectively tackle the threats posed by plastic waste while partnering with communities to do so.
“We appreciate what you have done for the Ijora community, we also want you to extend this gesture to other places where your consumers are,” she added.
Speaking on behalf of the host community, the representative of The Ojora of Ijora and Iganmu Kingdom, Prince Kunle Aromire expressed profound appreciation to the management of the company for their concern and commitment towards improving the welfare of the environment.
“On behalf of Kabiyesi, I want to appreciate Nigerian Breweries Plc for their support. We want to thank you for the job you are doing. We thank you for taking care of the welfare of our environment,” Aromire added.
“Your presence in this community is not for business alone but you also care for the environment such that we now have a good environment to live in.”
