Wetin be styrofoam wey Lagos goment ban and wetin you suppose know

Lagos state goment say dem don ban di use of styrofoam and evri oda single-use plastics wit immediate effect.

Di goment through di ministry of Environment and Water Resources reveal say dis ban dey necessary sake of say Styrofoam and single-use plastics dey cause serious problems to di environment as e dey block drainage channels wey water dey pass through.

Di commissioner wey dey handle dis ministry, Tokunbo Wahab say di ban on styrofoam and everi oda single-use plastics wey be non-biodegradable na wit immediate effect. Dis one mean say dem no fit break down dis single-use plastics into forms wey no dey harmful to di environment.

Dis ban na sometin wey fit affect business owners for Lagos - wey be Nigeria economic capital - wey dey make use of styrofoam and single-use plastics for dia business.

According to Kunle Adeshina wey be di director for public affairs for di ministry of Environment and Water Resources, im tell BBC News say di ban go take effect immediately as di commissioner tok.

Wetin be styrofoam and single-use plastics?

Styrofoam na lightweight material wey dem dey put around delicate objects for inside di container make e no go damage. Some pipo dey also use am hold di temperature of foods and drinks inside containers.

Styrofoam also dey useful as material wey dey keep heat for construction works (insulation) and fit keep sound to prevent am from spreading from one area go another side.

E clearly mean say dem dey use styrofoam stop di flow of heat and sound, and e contain 98 percent of air.

Example of styrofoam na dat lightweight foam material wey dey always dey inside carton of televisions, refrigerators and other home appliances- to protect di items make e no go spoil.

Single-use plastics na one of di most commonly used item wey many Nigerians sabi well well and dem dey also refer to am as disposable.

Dis na di common disposable items wey pipo suppose use just once and throway am and e dey useful for di food packaging, medical and oda sectors.

Examples of dis single-use plastics include disposable plastics for food packaging wey dem also sabi as takeaway plate, plastic cutleries (forks, spoons), plastic bottles and cups, egg cartons, cleaning gloves and oda plastic materials wey we no suppose use multiple times.

Single-use plastics dey popular well well for Lagos sake of di plenti parties wey dey always go on for di state wit ova 15 million population but e no dey degradable.

Biodegradable mean say organisms fit breakdown waste materials into smaller components while non-biodegradable mean say living organisms no fit breakdown di waste material.

Both Styrofoam and single-use plastics no fit decompose and Lagos State alone dey produce about 870,000 tonnes of plastic garbage evri year, data show.

Why di ban?

According to di commissioner for wetin e post for im X handle, many drainage channels for Lagos state dey filled wit Styrofoam wey pipo bin throway and di goment no fit dey fold hand to siddown look how waste go dey pollute di city.

Im add say di Lagos waste management authority (Lawma) dey always find diz waste materials from roads and markets wen dem dey do cleaning and direct say make dem join hand wit Kick Against Indiscipline (KAI) to begin implement di ban.

Producers, distributors and any end-users of styrofoam packs go risk heavy fines and sealing- off of dia facilities if dem no take di ban seriously becos na dat kain waste dey contribute to climate change, flooding and disease, according to di commissioner.

Wetin expert tok

Climate expert and environmentalist, Nicholas Adeniyi tok say di ban fit no go well wit di pipo for Lagos but e dey important sake of say di state get plenti water wey dey carry plastic wastes from one place to anoda.

Nicholas add say di alternative na to go back to di reusable materials wey we fit dey use and dem go last longer as well as paperback wey go replace di plastics Lagos goment dey ban.

According to Nicholas, di fear na if di alternatives go dey healthy enof so e no go get industrial chemical wey fit cause anoda health problem and make e go fit naturally decompose.

Kontris wey don ban single-use plastics

Lagos na di first state for Nigeria wey go effect dis ban on single-use plastics.

Kenya for 2017 bin stop visitors from bringing plastics such as disposable plates and water bottles to public recreation center while Zimbabwe bin impose heavy fine ontop offenders wey use food containers wey dem use plastic do.

Oda african kontris include Rwanda and Morocco wey don ban single-use plastics.

China, United Kingdom and United States dey among kontris wey don impose din ban on single-use plastics.

Alternatives to styrofoam and single-use plastics

As di Lagos goment don ban styrofoam and single-use plastics, pipo go begin search for alternatives .

Some of di alternatives wey fit replace diz disposables include paper bags, reusable cups, metal containers, cotton bags, paper straws, wooden cutleries (spoons, forks). Wooden and resuable plates fit replace takeaway packs.