The Japanese Ambassador to Nigeria, Hideo Suzuki has pledged his country’s readiness to support the Federal Government’s efforts to tackle plastic waste control.

Suzuki stated this during a courtesy call on the Director General of NESREA, Dr. Innocent Barikor in Abuja, Tuesday, expressing the satisfaction of the Japanese government’s commitment to exhibit and assist the agency in the first phase of the project.

The Ambassador disclosed that the second phase would be funded from the Japanese Supplementary Budget 2 (JSB2) and would kick off in March 2025, and further scale up on the initiatives of the first phase.

He noted that the initial support through Japanese Supplementary Budget (JSB1) supported stakeholders’ engagement, the development of National Guidelines for the Implementation of EPR for Packaging (Plastic), and EPR Enforcement Plan.

“The second phase of the project will consider development of reuse and refill systems to address pollution from water sachets, conduct feasibility study and identify possible reuse solutions; consultations with relevant stakeholders; and identifying financial gaps for reuse systems and solutions to Single Use Plastic (SUP) pollution.”

Responding, the Director General of NESREA, Dr. Innocent Barikor, expressed his gratitude to the government and people of Japan, noting that their support has assisted the Agency in promoting sustainable environmental practices and aligning with circular plastic economy.

He said the agency was desirous of understudying the advanced and effective waste management system operated in Japan and looked for ways forward to future collaborations with the Government of Japan.