The National Environmental Benchmarks and Restrictions Enforcement Company (NESREA) and Sustainable Investigate and Action for Sustainable Natural environment (SRADev) have identified as for accountable battery recycling in Nigeria.
Vital officers of the organisations built the simply call at a workshop titled: “Partnership for Liable Battery and Steel Recycling (PROBAMET)” held on Monday, April 15, 2024, in Abeokuta, Ogun Condition.
The workshop was hosted by the Ogun Condition Ministry of Ecosystem and financed by the Initiative for Worldwide Solidarity.
The workshop is a multi-stakeholder initiative endorsing dependable battery recycling and accountable sourcing of secondary non-ferrous metals from Utilised Lead Acid Batteries (ULABs) in Nigeria.
Talking at the occasion, the Director Basic of NESREA, Prof. Aliyu Jauro, claimed he was deeply honoured to welcome stakeholders to the workshop on the undertaking.
“Together, we embark on a journey of collaboration, innovation, and collective action in addressing a person of Nigeria’s most urgent environmental challenges: the promotion of dependable utilized battery and non-ferrous metallic recycling,” Aliyu stated.
Represented by Isa Abdu Abdussalam, Director, Inspection and Enforcement, NESREA, Aliyu explained batteries, from automobiles to substitute power methods, posed a important problem due to their articles of harmful and carcinogenic weighty metals like guide and mercury.
According to him, exposure to these substances can lead to extreme wellness problems, such as memory loss, higher blood tension, nerve issues, kidney damage and even demise.
He claimed Nigeria experienced viewed a surge in the use of direct-acid batteries, supplied their affordability and availability.
“While these batteries supply great benefits, their inappropriate handling in the course of the recycling method has resulted in environmental contamination and compromised human safety.
“To make sure sustainable improvement, the Federal Governing administration founded NESREA with the mandate to enforce compliance with environmental legal guidelines, rules, policies, requirements and restrictions in Nigeria.
“NESREA also plays a important role in upholding intercontinental environmental agreements in pursuit of these plans,” Aliyu mentioned.
Also talking, Dr Leslie Adogame, Government Director, SRADev, stressed the importance of the workshop for the health and fitness and wellbeing of the regional communities.
In his welcome deal with, the Commissioner for Environment, Ogun State, Mr. Ola Oresanya, thanked the stakeholders for coming down to the condition to endorse responsible battery recycling.
Oresanya said the condition performed host to the massive players in the recycling of batteries and non-ferrous metals, introducing that jointly with all the stakeholders a collective roadmap for dependable battery recycling would be reached.
The Oba of Ogijo, Oba Kazeem Gbadamosi, in his goodwill concept, highlighted the reckless disposal of battery waste in his kingdom, the place most of the recyclers operated.
Gbadamosi called on the regulators to make certain that the recyclers adopted world-wide greatest observe.
The workshop was attended by stakeholders from Lagos and Ogun states’ ministries of ecosystem and civil modern society organisations.
By Fabian Ekeruche