‘Proper disposal of plastics will protect marine environment’

The Managing Director of APM Terminals Apapa, Martin Jacob, has called for the proper disposal and recycling of plastic wastes to reduce its harmful effect on the ocean, wildlife and humans. Mr. Jacob stated this at a cleanup exercise organized by APM Terminals in partnership with Wecyclers at Ogogoro Island, a riverine community in Apapa, […]

The Managing Director of APM Terminals Apapa, Martin Jacob, has called for the proper disposal and recycling of plastic wastes to reduce its harmful effect on the ocean, wildlife and humans.

Mr. Jacob stated this at a cleanup exercise organized by APM Terminals in partnership with Wecyclers at Ogogoro Island, a riverine community in Apapa, Lagos as part of the company’s 2018 “Go Green” campaign.

About 120 employees of the company, and Wecyclers volunteers as well as residents of the community took part in the cleaning exercise; collecting trash and other litters from the shoreline. The total waste collected weighed 228kg.

“Go Green” is a worldwide campaign set up by a number of leading container terminal operators and port authorities, with the aim of raising awareness on the global natural and social environment and improving conditions in the areas.

The campaign is carried out annually through volunteer activities such as creating and upgrading local green spaces, launching educational programmes, adopting waste recycling measures and community engagement.

Mr. Jacob said the cleanup exercise was aimed at raising the awareness on the importance of environmental care through proper management of plastic wastes.

The managing director, who noted that it may be difficult to abolish the use of plastic bottles, said there is, however, urgent need to take action against plastic pollution in Nigeria to protect the marine environment.

“In Nigeria, very often you see the whole place flooded. This is all because of the plastic bottles we throw in the drains. So we just want to spread the message among our communities to inculcate the culture of disposing plastic waste in a proper manner, in other words, recycle it.

“We can’t stop using plastics. Plastic nowadays has become part of our lives. Even if you buy chocolate in the supermarket, they give nylon and you accept it and that is the reason we find it everywhere. This in turn causes more damage to our environment. Plastic gives us a lot of benefits but careless usage is what is giving us the problem we face today.