The National Environmental Standards and Regulators Enforcement Agency (NESREA) on Monday held a capacity building workshop on Used Lead Battery Recycling in Nigeria.
Newsmen reports that the workshop was held in partnership with the Sustainable Research and Action for Environmental Development (SRADev) and other Civil Society Organisation.
Speaking at the workshop, the Director-General/CEO of NESREA, Dr Innocent Barikor, noted that Nigeria reently launched the National Battery Regulation in the battery space.
Barikor said that the workshop is part of measures to sensistise the people at the grassroots on the content of the new regulation.
“We need stakeholders buy in for the regulations to be understood.
“That is why you find the stakeholders on the table to drive down the content,” Barikor said.
According to him, NESREA has a responsibility to enforce regulations within the context of the law.
He urged stakeholders in the recycling value chain to do their businesses within the context of the law without jeopardising the environment and health of the people.
Also speaking, the Executive Director of SRADev, Dr Leslie Adogame, said that the workshop is about getting the people conscientised about next step in Used Lead Acid Battery (ULAB) recycling,.
Adogame said that the ULAB sector has been neglected for too long. until CSO did a whistle blowing that exposed the dangerous activities happening in the sector.
He said investigations revealed recycling practices undertaken by some expatriates did not meet standard best practices.
“We when got there, we saw that they were doing sharp practices.
We raised alarm which led the European countries buying ingots from Nigeria to cut their businesses with the country..
“Basically what we are doing is to bring on experts to teach stakeholders in the sector internationally acceptable models for recycling ULAB in Nigeria.
“We got funding from the German government to train our people on responsible battery recycling to learn and unlearn,” Adogame said.
For the Anambra State Commissioner for Environment, Dr Felix Odimegwu, the workshop would help to curtail exposures to lead poisoning.
Odimegwu said that the capacity building workshop will help us to deploy standard regulations in Anambra.
“Anambra people are known for industry , going forward, we would ensure that Anambra people in the battery value chain will operate within the context of the regulation,” Odimegwu said.
