Victor Uzoho
The Federal Ministry of Environment (FMEnv) in collaboration with the European Union (EU), and the German Government has validated the National Waste Battery Management Policy.
The collaboration falls within the framework of the Nigerian Energy Support Programme.
The policy, which was developed in collaboration with stakeholders in the sector, is aimed at assisting Nigeria to imbibe international standards in the disposal of batteries, and also foster investments for renewable energy and energy efficiency.
Also, the policy establishes the national standard of best practices for waste battery management, in line with the provisions and recommendations of the Basel and the Bamako Conventions and other related guidelines for the Environmentally Sound Management (ESM) of hazardous waste.
Indeed, waste management refers to the activities and actions that handle waste materials – waste prevention, recycling, reuse, and recovery, which are strategies to ease the burden on landfills, conserve natural resources, and save energy that helps utilize resources more effectively and sustainably.
Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 11 speaks to sustainable waste services in the areas off waste collection and management, which it says are essential public services for every community and are necessary for the protection of public health and the environment.
Speaking at the validation event, the Minister of Environment, Dr. Mohammad Mahmood Abubakar, said the new policy will support the Nigerian Government’s efforts to ensure the efficient disposal of waste batteries.
He said: “The new National Waste Battery Management Policy will support the Nigerian Government’s efforts to ensure the Environmentally Sound Management (ESM) of waste batteries resulting from the accelerating use of renewable energy solutions, such as solar mini-grids to promote energy access in unserved or underserved areas in the country.”
Remarking on the importance of the new policy, the Head of Section, Economic Cooperation and Energy of the EU Delegation to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Ms. Inga Stefanowicz, noted that the policy will promote good practice of battery waste disposal following international standards.
“It will help address the environmental concerns of economic development based on technological advancements such as in renewable energy or digital sectors,” she said.
Also, the Head of Programme, Nigerian Energy Support Programme (NESP), Mr. Duke Benjamin, said: “This milestone will go a long way in regulating the activities of the battery waste disposal industry, greatly reducing the release of toxic chemicals in the atmosphere and on surface and groundwater.”
He noted that to ensure sustainability in policy implementation, NESP will continue to provide technical support and training to various battery recycling facilities in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Environment.
It (ESM) will help address the environmental concerns of economic development based on technological advancements such as in renewable energy or digital sectors.
The Nigerian Energy Support Programme (NESP) is a technical assistance programme co-funded by the European Union (EU) and the German Government. The programme is implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Power (FMP).
It aims to foster investments for renewable energy and energy efficiency and to improve access to electricity for disadvantaged, mostly rural communities.
The validation event also provided an overview of the objectives of the policy, the obligations of various stakeholders along with different levels of the value chain to manage waste batteries in an environmentally sound way, and the institutional framework for the policy implementation.
