MAN Urges Federal Government to Halt NESREA’s Plastic Ban Pending Regulatory Review

The Association expressed serious concerns over the proposed regulations, particularly provisions seeking to prohibit the production and use of single-use plastic products below 80 microns in thickness, impose taxes on shopping bags with wall thicknesses between 30 and 50 microns, and restrict a broad range of plastic products listed under the Eleventh Schedule of the regulations.
Speaking on behalf of the Association, Director General of MAN, Segun Ajayi-Kadir, mni, said that while manufacturers fully support environmental sustainability and responsible waste management practices, the proposed regulatory framework is premature, lacks sufficient empirical evidence, and could undermine Nigeria’s industrialization agenda.
According to him, the proposed measures risk disrupting one of Nigeria’s largest light manufacturing industries, which supports hundreds of factories, thousands of small and medium-scale enterprises, and millions of livelihoods across the plastics value chain.
“The Association recognizes the urgent need to address environmental pollution and improve waste management systems. However, public policy must be guided by evidence, measurable outcomes, and extensive stakeholder consultation. The proposed regulations, in their current form, pose significant risks to industrial production, employment, investment, and consumer welfare,” Ajayi-Kadir stated.
Existing Plastic Circularity Framework Yet to Be Implemented
MAN noted that the Federal Government, through the National Plastic Action Partnership (NNPAP), developed a comprehensive Plastic Circularity Roadmap in 2024 in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Environment.
The roadmap outlined strategic interventions aimed at reducing plastic pollution through enhanced collection systems, recycling infrastructure, Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), circular economy initiatives, public awareness campaigns, and improved waste management investments.
According to the Association, many of the roadmap’s critical recommendations remain largely unimplemented.
MAN questioned the rationale behind introducing a new prohibition regime without first assessing the effectiveness of existing interventions or fully implementing the roadmap specifically designed to tackle plastic waste sustainably.
“It is difficult to understand why government is proceeding with additional restrictions when many agreed solutions under the Plastic Circularity Roadmap have not yet been fully executed,” the Association stated.
Demand for Evidence-Based Policy
The manufacturers further argued that there is currently no publicly available assessment demonstrating the effectiveness of previous restrictions on single-use plastics in Nigeria.
The Association said there is insufficient evidence showing whether earlier bans reduced environmental pollution, improved waste collection systems, enhanced recycling rates, or significantly altered consumer behavior.
MAN stressed that environmental policies should be driven by verifiable data and measurable outcomes rather than assumptions.
Lessons from International Experience
Drawing from international examples, MAN argued that outright bans on thin plastic products have often failed to deliver lasting environmental benefits where adequate recycling and waste management infrastructure were lacking.
The Association cited Kenya’s 2017 plastic bag ban, which reportedly resulted in factory closures and job losses while smuggled plastic products continued to circulate within the market. Bangladesh’s 2002 plastic ban remains weakly enforced decades later, while South Africa and India experienced temporary reductions before consumption rebounded.
Conversely, MAN pointed to countries such as Germany, South Korea, and the Netherlands, where high recycling rates have been achieved through robust Extended Producer Responsibility systems, efficient collection mechanisms, and investments in recycling infrastructure rather than outright bans.
The Association emphasized what it described as a critical asymmetry of risk.
According to MAN, when enforcement weakens, demand for affordable plastic packaging often resurfaces through informal markets and cross-border trade. However, factories that close, jobs that disappear, investments that are lost, and supply chains that collapse are not easily restored.
The Association warned that Nigeria could become increasingly dependent on imported alternatives, thereby placing additional pressure on scarce foreign exchange reserves while weakening domestic industrial capacity.
Economic Impact Could Be Significant
MAN described Nigeria’s plastic manufacturing industry as one of the country’s most important industrial subsectors, supporting activities in food processing, pharmaceuticals, agriculture, logistics, retail trade, packaging, recycling, and petrochemicals.
The Association warned that compliance with the proposed 80-micron threshold would require manufacturers to make costly changes to machinery, production processes, and raw material inputs.
Such adjustments, it said, could render existing investments obsolete, increase production costs, reduce competitiveness, and expose manufacturers to substantial financial losses.
Beyond manufacturers, MAN cautioned that the impact would be felt by consumers, particularly small businesses, market traders, food vendors, and informal sector operators who rely heavily on affordable packaging materials.
The resulting increase in production and packaging costs could ultimately translate into higher prices for consumers already burdened by inflationary pressures and declining purchasing power.
The Association also warned that reduced industrial activity could negatively affect government revenue through lower tax collections, customs duties, value-added tax receipts, and other fiscal contributions generated by the manufacturing sector.
Plastic Pollution Is a Waste Management Challenge
While reaffirming its commitment to environmental sustainability, MAN maintained that plastic pollution is fundamentally a waste management problem rather than a production problem.
The Association argued that the primary challenge lies in inadequate collection, sorting, recycling, and disposal systems rather than the existence of plastic materials themselves.
According to MAN, sustainable environmental outcomes can only be achieved through stronger waste management infrastructure, expanded recycling capacity, effective implementation of Extended Producer Responsibility regulations, stricter enforcement of anti-littering laws, and greater public awareness.
MAN’s Key Demands
To ensure balanced and evidence-based policymaking, the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria has called on NESREA and the Federal Government to:
• Suspend implementation of the proposed ban on single-use plastics below 80 microns pending a comprehensive Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA);
• Conduct an independent evaluation of the environmental, economic, social, employment, and fiscal implications of the proposed regulations;
• Review and assess the effectiveness of previous plastic restrictions before introducing additional prohibitions;
• Fully implement the recommendations of the 2024 National Plastic Action Partnership Plastic Circularity Roadmap;
• Strengthen the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) framework and accelerate investments in recycling and collection infrastructure;
• Establish a broad stakeholder working group comprising government agencies, manufacturers, recyclers, environmental experts, academia, consumer groups, and development partners to develop practical transition strategies.
MAN concluded that Nigeria must pursue environmental sustainability without compromising industrial growth, employment generation, economic competitiveness, and social welfare.
The Association reiterated its willingness to work collaboratively with government and stakeholders to develop practical, science-based, and economically sustainable solutions for managing plastic waste.
According to MAN, the long-term solution lies not in blanket prohibitions but in building efficient waste management systems capable of collecting, sorting, recycling, and recovering plastic materials for productive reuse within a circular economy.
The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria has urged the Federal Government to suspend NESREA’s proposed ban on single-use plastics below 80 microns, warning of factory closures, job losses, higher consumer costs, and economic disruption pending a comprehensive impact assessment.