The National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA) has announced a fine of 2 million Nigerian Naira for organisations violating the National Environmental (Battery Control) Regulations recently implemented in Abuja.
“The fine is 200,000 Nigerian Naira for individual offenders and 5,000 Nigerian Naira for each day the offence continues, and in some cases, imprisonment for a fixed period, i.e. 6 months, or both fine and imprisonment,” Abiye White, Assistant Director (Legal), NESREA, said yesterday at an interaction with stakeholders on the regulations.
These regulations aim to prevent and reduce pollution and waste from used batteries in the Nigerian environment. These regulations cover new and used batteries and the life cycle of batteries in implementing a circular economy.
NESREA Director General Dr Innocent Bariat Barikor said batteries pose a huge threat to the environment. Most people are either unaware of the health effects of battery materials or do not follow preventive guidelines for proper disposal.
The Director-General said the battery regulation is a comprehensive and all-encompassing environmental tool for all sector stakeholders to promote environmental sustainability in Nigeria. He believes the regulation will tackle the challenges of informal recyclers and unregulated battery collection, recycling and disposal practices.
He said the new rule aims to “formalise the battery recycling sector, promote safe disposal methods, reduce environmental pollution and promote the implementation of the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) programme for the battery sector in Nigeria.”
The new regulation states that a person who stores used batteries must conduct his activities in conformity with the existing laws, guidelines and standards set out in the schedules of these regulations; a person involved in battery storage must register with the Producer Responsibility Organisation and obtain a registration certificate from the agency.
“But regulation alone is not enough,” says Ms. Miranda Amachree, Executive Secretary of the Alliance for Responsible Battery Recycling. She added that effective compliance with regulation and monitoring depends on the active participation and cooperation of all stakeholders, including industry leaders, civil society organisations, government agencies and the general public.
He said that it is essential to create necessary networks, partnerships and collaborations to sensitize stakeholders and promote compliance with the provisions of the regulations.
“We know that batteries contain both valuable and hazardous materials, but while harnessing the valuable materials, hazardous waste pollutes our environment and workers’ health if not managed properly,” Amachree said.
Many health problems are attributed to the presence of lead and other heavy metals, such as cadmium and mercury, in waste batteries. Heavy metal exposure causes a variety of health effects, including neurological disorders, cardiovascular disease (CVD), kidney dysfunction, and carcinogenesis. Lead exposure is known to cause anemia, hypertension, kidney impairment, immunotoxicity, and toxicity to reproductive organs. The neurological and behavioral effects of lead are believed to be irreversible.
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