The National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA) has announced plans to launch a digital marketplace for waste transactions in the country.
This was stated in a statement yesterday in Abuja by the assistant director of media, NESREA, Amaka Ejiofor.
Ejiofor said that the Waste Marketplace Nigeria platform is a collaborative effort between NESREA and Recycle Stack to digitalise the country’s circular economy.
She said, “The circular economy is operationalised under the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) Programme throughout the lifecycle of the product. Sectors such as food and beverages, batteries, used tyres, and electrical electronics are currently part of the EPR programme, with various stakeholders playing key roles in the value chain.”
She further said that the Waste Marketplace Nigeria platform aims to increase digital inclusion, create jobs for the informal sector, boost material recovery, reduce illegal dumping, and raise recycling rates.
“The project plans to onboard at least 10,000 verified users within the first four months and serve as a data mining source for waste management to strengthen compliance and enforcement of environmental standards. Initiative set to kick off in Lagos and Abuja, with plans for subsequent rollout in major cities across the country,” she said.
Prof Innocent Barikor, the director general of NESREA, also expressed the agency’s commitment to digitalising Nigeria’s waste economy and promoting regulation, accountability, and economic empowerment.
Barikor highlighted that Waste Marketplace Nigeria will formalise the waste sector, create green jobs, attract investments, and ensure environmental compliance, aligning with national development goals and serving as a blueprint for other African countries.
