INTRODUCTION

Every year, around 320,000 tonnes of waste are produced in Niamey, Niger, of which 16,000 tonnes are plastics.  The use of plastics is a very common practice, probably because many people are unaware of the danger it represents for human health and the environment. More and more action is being taken to alleviate this problem. Companies are proposing “new solutions” such as recycling.

Plastic recycling: a sustainable environmental solution.

Plastic waste, when discarded, accumulates in the environment and causes asphyxiation of species living in the water; poisons groundwater and has serious repercussions on human health in that the animal species affected can end up in our food chain. Worse still, this waste is not biodegradable. In Niger, most plastic comes from single-use packaging for water, food and clothing. These tons of waste are thrown back into the environment with little regret. These austere ways of doing things have prompted some to take action to reduce environmental pollution. “Nothing is lost, everything is transformed! 

This is the core business of many innovative companies in the recycling sector.  A number of commendable initiatives have been put in place to reduce our plastic consumption. We’ve gone from a linear model (produce – consume – throw away) to a healthier one: Collect – sort – recover plastic waste. The aim is to recover as much waste as possible in order to recycle it, reuse it and ultimately reduce pollution. But is recycling a real environmental solution for Niger?

Recycling: solution or myth?

One of the most powerful paradigms in the proposed solutions to end plastic pollution is to consider that giving new life to our waste is a sustainable solution. In Niger, this solution seems even more controversial, as the majority of the population has very limited knowledge of waste sorting. In the collective consciousness, to recycle is to act for nature and for environmental, biological and human wellbeing; only recycling doesn’t solve the plastic problem. We don’t stop using plastic, we create it in another form. 

In fact, responsible consumption merely perpetuates over-consumption and waste production.  It highlights an amplifying loop in the use of plastic waste, in which the systemic problem remains: plastic waste; the symptomatic solution: recycling. Recycling reduces plastic waste pollution. This is a good thing for producers, as it saves them energy and money, since with recycling, no new production is added to the old. However, the illustrious desire to put an end to plastic pollution has been slowed down by the fact that we are still clinging to our habits and finding it difficult to mobilize the financial resources and infrastructure needed to achieve the ultimate solution, which is to eliminate plastic waste.

Perhaps we made a mistake in thinking that getting away from the hierarchy of the original energy-efficiency principle (Reduce-Reuse-Recycle) could help us design sustainable solutions for plastic waste management.  The first two stages of the process( Reduce-Reuse) have been burnt out. Perhaps it was time to start reducing, by thinking before you buy, and giving priority to durable/solid materials over single-use or disposable ones; reusing rather than throwing away, and thus giving products yet another life after consumption, because acting in this way is undoubtedly the essential component of sustainable, environmentally-friendly consumption.

CONCLUSION

Recycling may be an innovative solution, but it remains a symptomatic solution to the systemic problem of plastic pollution in Niger. With this in mind, it would seem wiser to propose sustainable consumption before thinking about responsible consumption, even if responsibility can be appreciated in terms of sustainability.

REFERENCES

ONEP Niger, 2023, Lutte contre la pollution plastique : la contribution de la filière recyclage des déchets plastiques par la création de biens de consommation, online, https://www.lesahel.org/lutte-contre-la-pollution-plastique-la-contribution-de-la-filiere-recyclage-des-dechets-plastiques-par-la-creation-de-biens-de-consommation/