A bottle thrown away today can still be waiting for us tomorrow.
Plastic is convenient for minutes, but its consequences can last far beyond its useful life. Around the world, more than 19–23 million tonnes of plastic waste leak into aquatic ecosystems every year, polluting rivers, lakes and seas.
For coastal communities, this is not an abstract environmental story. Plastic can threaten fisheries, tourism, biodiversity and the health of the ecosystems that support livelihoods. The World Bank estimates that 70–80% of marine plastic pollution is transported from land to sea via rivers and coastlines.
And Nigeria is part of this story. The World Bank reported that Nigeria generated about 4.7 million tonnes of plastic waste in 2018, with a significant share of coastal waste entering the marine environment.