NESREA defends Plastic Waste Control Regulation 2026

…Says Policy Is For National Interest

From Idu Jude Abuja

The Management of the National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA) has said that implementation of the National Environmental Plastic Waste Control Regulation 2026, remains the only way for proper environmental standards in the country.

The Director General of the agency Professor Innocent Barikor who was represented by Dr. Christopher Beka, Director Inspection and Enforcement made the clarification on Monday in Abuja during a press conference,
The DG, speaking on the sidelines of recent media publications attributed to the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) expressing concerns over the National Environmental (Plastic Waste Control) Regulations, 2026, stated that NESREA,s regulation 2026, would rather ensure international environmental standards.

The DG NESREA while acknowledging MAN as a major stakeholder in Nigeria’s industrial development and the contribution of manufacturers to employment generation, investment, value-chain development, innovation and national economic growth, wishes for constructive engagement from MAN and other stakeholders on the implementation of the Regulations.

Consequently, Barikor highlighted that , it has become necessary to provide clear public clarification, as some of the issues raised appear to be based on an inaccurate interpretation of the scope, purpose and implementation approach of the regulations.

He explained that the National Environmental (Plastic Waste Control) Regulations, 2026 are not designed to shut down industries, undermine investments or impose abrupt burdens on manufacturers.

“Rather, they are a national environmental and circular economy instrument intended to reduce plastic pollution, strengthen producer accountability, stimulate recycling markets, improve waste recovery, promote innovation in packaging design and create new economic opportunities within Nigeria’s emerging circular economy.”
Furthermore, he said the Regulations were made pursuant to the powers conferred by the NESREA Act and have been duly gazetted as subsidiary legislation.

Continuing, he said, “They provide a structured, phased and consultative framework for managing plastic products and plastic waste across the entire value chain.

“On the claim that the Regulations impose a blanket 80-micron ban on all single-use plastics
This interpretation is incorrect.

The 80-micron provision in regulation 26 relates specifically to certain plastic bags made from plastic film. It does not amount to a blanket prohibition on all plastic packaging, nor does it ban all single-use plastic products across the food, beverage, pharmaceutical, agricultural, logistics or manufacturing sectors.

“The regulations make a clear distinction between plastic carrier bags, other plastic packaging, PET containers, products with plastic components, recyclable materials and plastic waste management activities. Packaging applications in sensitive sectors are addressed under separate provisions with different compliance pathways.

“It is therefore misleading to present the Regulations as a wholesale ban on all plastic packaging or all single-use plastics. The focus is on eliminating the most problematic, low-value, easily littered and difficult-to-recover plastic materials while guiding industry towards improved design, recovery, reuse, recycling and responsible end-of-life management.”
On the concern that the Regulations will cause immediate disruption to manufacturing operations, he affirmed that the regulations are not structured for abrupt disruption. They provide phased compliance requirements and transition windows to allow industry to adjust.
“For instance, the minimum recycled PET content requirement does not take immediate effect. It begins with 25% recycled PET content from 1 January 2028 and increases to 50% from 1 January 2030. This timeline gives manufacturers, recyclers, brand owners and Producer Responsibility Organisations sufficient time to plan investments, upgrade systems, build supply chains, develop local recycled-material capacity and engage regulators on practical implementation.”

Similarly, he explained that requirements relating to producer responsibility, reporting, traceability, eco-labelling and recovery systems are to be implemented progressively, with further operational guidance and stakeholder engagement.
According to him, the intention is not to halt production but to support a managed transition from a linear “produce-use-dispose” model to a circular model where materials are designed, recovered and reused more efficiently.
On the fear that the Regulations will threaten jobs and investments
NESREA DG, stated that it understands the importance of protecting jobs and investment. However, the bigger risk to industry is not regulation itself, but continued unmanaged plastic pollution, weak recovery systems, poor waste data, rising environmental liabilities, blocked drainage systems, marine litter, public health risks and the loss of valuable materials that could otherwise feed domestic recycling industries.
In further clarification, he said, “The Regulations are intended to create new investment opportunities in collection, aggregation, sorting, recycling, recycled-content production, packaging innovation, eco-design, logistics, data systems and compliance services.
“Rather than destroy jobs, a properly implemented circular plastics framework can expand employment across the formal and informal waste sectors, support small and medium enterprises, strengthen recycling value chains and create demand for locally sourced secondary raw materials.
“The regulations also provide regulatory certainty. Investors are more likely to commit capital to recycling and circular economy infrastructure where there is a clear national framework requiring producer participation, material recovery, data reporting and recycled-content uptake.”
On the increase in production costs and consumer prices, he explained that NESREA recognizes that the transition may involve adjustment costs. However, the long-term cost of inaction is far higher. Plastic pollution imposes hidden costs on government, communities and businesses through flooding, drainage blockage, public sanitation burdens, environmental degradation, health risks, tourism losses and clean-up costs.
The regulations are therefore guided by the polluter-pays principle: those who place plastic products and packaging on the market must share responsibility for their recovery and environmentally sound management.
“This is not a punitive approach. It is a globally recognized economic principle that internalizes environmental costs and drives innovation. It also reduces the unfair burden currently borne by government and the public, who pay for the environmental consequences of products placed on the market without adequate recovery systems.
“By encouraging local recycling, local sourcing of recycled PET, design-for-recyclability and Producer Responsibility Organisation systems, the Regulations can reduce long-term dependence on virgin raw materials, improve material efficiency and strengthen domestic circular economy markets.
On the concern that the Regulations may encourage import dependence
The regulations are designed to do the opposite.
One of the most important provisions is the requirement that recycled PET used for compliance should be sourced locally from duly certified food-grade recycled PET producers.
“This is intended to grow Nigeria’s domestic collection and recycling capacity, expand the local market for plastic waste as feedstock, support Nigerian recyclers and reduce dependence on imported alternatives.
“The regulations therefore provide an incentive for investment in local recycling infrastructure and secondary raw-material production. This will help keep value within the Nigerian economy, support local enterprises, reduce foreign exchange pressure and promote industrial adaptation.
“NESREA’s implementation approach will continue to prioritize local industry development, not import substitution that weakens Nigerian manufacturing.
Responding to the fact that it should be addressed as mere waste, he stressed that plastic pollution cannot be solved only at the point of disposal. “It must be addressed across the full value chain: product design, material choice, production, market placement, consumption, collection, recovery, recycling and final disposal.
“Waste management authorities alone cannot carry the burden of plastic pollution while producers continue to place large volumes of difficult-to-recover products on the market without corresponding recovery responsibility.
“This is why the regulations combine several mutually reinforcing measures: Extended Producer Responsibility, producer reporting, collection systems, recycled-content requirements, eco-design, traceability, public awareness, permitting of plastic waste management facilities and controls on problematic plastic materials.
“This integrated approach is consistent with international best practice. It recognizes that plastic waste is not only an end-of-pipe sanitation issue; it is a product stewardship, resource efficiency and circular economy issue.
On the empirical justification, he noted that the regulations did not emerge suddenly. “They build on earlier national policy work, stakeholder consultations, the National Policy on Plastic Waste Management, the national plastics roadmap process and extensive discussions on Extended Producer Responsibility and circular economy transition.
“The purpose of the Regulations is also to correct one of Nigeria’s long-standing weaknesses in plastic governance: the absence of reliable national data on plastic production, importation, market placement, recovery, recycling and leakage into the environment.
“For this reason, the Regulations establish mechanisms such as the Central Data Collection Platform, producer reporting, EPR reporting, recovery monitoring and compliance tracking. These are evidence-generating tools. They will allow Nigeria to move from estimates and fragmented information to a stronger national plastics data system.
“A Regulatory Impact Assessment or implementation review can be useful and NESREA is open to targeted assessments. However, such an assessment should support implementation, not suspend a duly gazetted regulation that already contains phased timelines, transition provisions and stakeholder engagement mechanisms.
He informed that the regulations are not contrary to the roadmap, but to operationalize many of the roadmap’s key recommendations.
“The roadmap calls for improved collection, recycling infrastructure, Extended Producer Responsibility, better data, circular economy models, public awareness and stronger producer accountability. These are the same pillars reflected in the regulations.
Without a binding regulatory framework, many roadmap recommendations would remain aspirational. The regulations provide the legal and institutional pathway for implementation. They translate policy direction into enforceable obligations, while still allowing phased implementation and consultation.
The regulations should therefore be seen as an implementation instrument for the Roadmap, not as a departure from it.”
Professor Innocent Barikor insisted that NESREA does not consider suspension necessary in the national interest, stating that the regulations are already gazetted subsidiary legislation, to address an urgent national environmental problem and provide sufficient room for phased implementation, guidance development, stakeholder engagement and periodic review.
“Suspension would create regulatory uncertainty, delay investment decisions, weaken producer accountability and send the wrong signal to recyclers, development partners, state authorities and businesses already preparing for circular economy compliance.
“Rather than suspend the Regulations, NESREA proposes structured implementation engagement with MAN, sector groups, Producer Responsibility Organisations, recyclers, packaging producers, brand owners, state governments and other relevant stakeholders.
“The appropriate way forward is not withdrawal, but collaborative implementation.
10. NESREA’s proposed implementation pathway
To ensure smooth implementation, NESREA will continue to engage stakeholders on the following, clarification of the scope of Regulation 26 and other product-control provisions, development of practical implementation guidelines for manufacturers and importers.
Others include operationalization of the Central Data Collection Platform and National Product/Material Registry, strengthening of Producer Responsibility Organisations for the plastics value chain.
It also intends phased compliance planning for recycled PET content requirements.
It will also support focal recycling and food-grade recycled PET capacity;
The regulations are for the development of producer reporting templates and compliance dashboards;
It is for clarification of exemption procedures where justified under the Regulations,
and collaboration with states and local governments on collection and recovery infrastructure; and for periodic implementation review to address genuine technical and economic concerns.
Meanwhile, NESREA had said that the agency remains open to receiving detailed technical submissions from MAN and other stakeholders on specific implementation challenges, sector-by-sector realities, investment needs, local recycling capacity, packaging alternatives and transition support mechanisms.

It also said the National Environmental (Plastic Waste Control) Regulations, 2026 are not anti-industry. They are pro-environment, pro-resource efficiency, pro-recycling, pro-innovation and pro-sustainable industrial development.
Nigeria cannot continue with a plastics system in which products are placed on the market without adequate responsibility for their recovery, recycling or environmentally sound management.
At the same time, NESREA recognizes that successful implementation requires partnership with industry.
The Agency therefore invites MAN and all relevant stakeholders to engage constructively in the implementation process.
He concluded that the objective is not to weaken manufacturing, but to reposition Nigeria’s plastics sector for competitiveness in a world increasingly moving towards circularity, traceability, recycled content, producer responsibility and sustainable packaging.
NESREA, remains committed to transparent, evidence-based and consultative implementation of the Regulations in a manner that protects the environment, supports industry transition, creates green jobs and advances Nigeria’s circular economy.