Nigeria’s leading manufacturers have raised the alarm over Lagos State’s plan to outlaw single-use plastics, warning that the move could trigger widespread job losses and disrupt entire production chains if implemented without alternatives in place.
The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) said the proposed July 1, 2025 ban risks weakening the state’s manufacturing base and hurting thousands of small businesses that rely on plastic packaging for daily operations. According to the association, plastics remain central to food, beverage, pharmaceutical and consumer-goods distribution, and replacing them overnight is neither practical nor affordable.
MAN argued that environmental pollution linked to plastics is largely the result of inefficient waste collection and recycling systems, not the continued use of plastic products. It maintained that banning materials without fixing disposal infrastructure would merely shift the problem rather than solve it.
Industry data cited by the association show that most manufacturers expect downsizing or restructuring if the ban takes effect, while a significant share of traders and informal worker, many of them women, face the prospect of losing their primary source of income. Recycling operators, MAN added, could also suffer from reduced access to plastic waste used as production input.
The association expressed concern that the policy was developed with limited consultation and does not align with existing national strategies on plastic waste management, which emphasise recycling, reuse and circular-economy solutions.
MAN urged the Lagos State Government to reconsider its approach and focus instead on strengthening waste management systems, expanding recycling capacity and working with private-sector players to improve collection and sorting of plastic waste.
It also cautioned against adopting blanket bans seen in other countries without considering Nigeria’s economic realities, stressing that innovation, not prohibition, offers a more sustainable path to addressing plastic pollution.
The association called for an immediate pause in implementation and the opening of a structured dialogue with industry stakeholders to develop an environmentally responsible solution that does not sacrifice jobs or industrial growth.
