Gov. Aminu Masari of Katsina State says the state government
has expended more than N10 billion on provision of potable water to the
people of the state.
Alhaji Aminu Bello Masari, Governor of Katsina State
Masari made this known during his re-election campaign rally
in Charanchi Local Government Area of the state on Wednesday, January
16, 2019.
“The state government used the funds to expand existing
water sources and establish new ones to satisfy the water needs of its citizens.
“The state government expended over N5 billion to upgrade
and rehabilitate Ajiwa Dam water works that provides water to Katsina and
environs.
“The Ajiwa Dam was established in 1974 when Katsina was
a Local Government under defunct North-Central State.
“Since then, no government had made plans to expand the dam
and the dam has failed to satisfy the water demand of Katsina as a state
capital.
“The state has spent over N3 billion to rehabilitate Daura and Malumfashi water works.
“We have also pumped over N3 billion to drill over 1,250
motorised boreholes across the state,” he said.
The governor further said that any government that
provided potable water had prevented water borne diseases by 75 per cent.
He called on the citizens of the state to protect all water
projects in their towns and villages against vandalism.
President Muhammadu Buhari has reiterated the commitment of
his administration to the creation of an intervention fund to support research
in science and technology in the country.
President Muhammadu Buhari
Buhari made the pledge on Monday, January 14, 2019 in Enugu
while declaring open the 2019 Technology and Innovation Expo organised by the
Federal Ministry of Science and Technology.
The expo had “Science, Technology and Innovation for
Economic Recovery and Sustainable Growth” as its theme.
The President was represented at the event by the Secretary
to the Government of the Federation, Mr Boss Mustapha.
He said that the move was borne out of his conviction that
the country needed the application of science and technology to achieve
prosperity.
According to him, the importance attached to science and
technology has led his administration to apply same in the crystallisation of
the country’s growth plan 2017-2030.
Buhari commended efforts so far put up by the ministry in
the advancement of technology, which he said had resulted in job creation and
capacity development.
The Federal Executive Council has developed key policies in
the sector, including a National Strategy for Promoting Competiveness in Raw
Materials and Products Development in the country.
Buhari, however, said that efforts by his administration to
achieve national growth through science and technology would not materialise
without the participation of the private sector.
In a keynote address, the Minister of Science and
Technology, Chief Ogbonnaya Onu, said that the event became necessary following
the growth in the level of creativity and inventiveness in Nigerians.
Onu said that there were strong indications that science and
technology could do for Nigeria what it had done in countries like India,
China, South Korea and others.
He said that his optimism drew from the fact that the number
of patents obtained by Nigerians in 2018 rose to 55 as against 6 received in
2015.
“Already, the number of patents secured with the assistance
of the National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion (NOTAP) in 2018
rose significantly,” he said.
The minister said that tremendous progress had been made in
the area of commercialisation of research findings.
“Many of our research findings are now products available in
the market place for our people to buy and use, because we make sure that our
researches focus on urgent national needs,” he said.
Onu said that many of the agencies under the supervision of
the ministry had made important contributions to job creation.
“As a result of their research findings aimed at encouraging
entrepreneurial development, many start-up businesses have sprung up in
different parts of the country,” he said.
He said that with adequate funding, the ministry could help
the country create millions of new jobs.
The minister added that the country under Buhari was moving
in a new direction aimed at building a knowledge-based economy that is
innovation driven.
“In this way, we are deploying science, technology and
innovation to convert our numerous natural resources into products that we need
and export.
“Every Nigerian is a major player as doing so will reduce
poverty in the country.
“Our goal is to ensure that any Nigerian who wants to work
is gainfully employed,” Onu said.
Participants at the four-day event were drawn from research
institutions, government agencies, private organisations and students.
The Africa Climate Week 2019 holds from March 18 to 22 in
Accra, Ghana, an event the organisers say will feature a schedule of activities
that will demonstrate enhanced ambition across the continent.
Accra, Ghana is hosting the Africa Climate Summit 2019
The summit arrives in the wake of the COP24 international climate negotiations in Poland in December 2018, which concluded with the finalisation of the “Katowice Climate Package” on December 15 – also known as the Paris Agreement Work Programme. The Africa Climate Week represents the first major climate-orientated event in 2019 that will promote the Programme’s “guidelines” as the underpinning to practically implement the Paris Agreement.
The timely completion of these operational elements – and
the ramping-up of national ambition relating to reducing greenhouse gas
emissions, adapting to the inevitable impacts of climate change and support for
developing countries to take climate action – will be critical to achieving
net-zero emissions by 2050 and, ultimately, keeping the global average
temperature rise to as close as possible to 1.5°C, according to the UN Climate
Change in a statement.
In terms of climate action, 2019 is already being hailed as
the year of ambition, since the world has until 2020 for countries to come back
to the table to revise their national climate action plans, also known as
Nationally Determined Contributions, or “NDCs”. Therefore, United Nations
Secretary-General António Guterres is convening a landmark Summit in New York on
September 2019 to spur global leaders to pledge stronger commitments to reduce
emissions and strengthen resilience.
“In acknowledgment of this Summit as the ‘headline event’ of
the year – and recognising that the Regional Climate Weeks are the obvious
stages to precipitate momentum in developing countries in the lead-up to
September – Africa Climate Week has firmly aligned itself with the New York
event – firstly, by matching its overarching theme ‘Climate Action in Africa: A
Race We Can Win’ with that of the September Summit and, secondly, by selecting
three of the Summit’s six ‘transformational areas’ as the focus of its thematic
sessions on 21-22 March: Energy Transition, Nature-Based Solutions, and Cities
and Local Action. The other three areas of the New York Summit will be Climate
Action and Carbon pricing; Reducing Emissions from Industry and Building
Resilience,” disclosed the UN Climate Change.
Meanwhile, the high-level segment, which takes place on Wednesday, March 20, will bring together Ministers and senior leaders – including UN Climate Change Executive Secretary, Patricia Espinosa – and focus on areas such as: visions for Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) enhancement and implementation; carbon pricing and markets, as well as the operationalisation of the ambition cycle in the Africa region.
Governments, private sector and other non-Party stakeholders
will gather in Accra throughout the Climate Week – which also incorporates two
days of affiliated events throughout March 18 to 19 – to promote the critical
work under the three transformational areas via the three levers of policy,
technology and finance.
The Africa Climate Week is the first of three annual
regional climate events this year – the latter two being the Latin America
& Caribbean Climate Week and the Asia Pacific Climate Week. The Africa
Climate Week is being orchestrated by several core partners, including World
Bank Group, African Development Bank, West African Development Bank, CTCN,
UNEP, UNEP DTU Partnership, UNDP, IETA, Marrakech Partnership and UN Climate
Change.
The collective goal of these Climate Weeks is to support the
implementation of countries’ NDCs under the Paris Agreement and climate action
to deliver on the Sustainable Development Goals. In so doing, they bring
together a diverse array of international stakeholders in the public and
private sectors around the common goal of enhancing climate action.
In recognition of the increasing pressure
under which the global food system has fallen, the international community devoted
Goal 2 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end hunger, achieve food
security, improve food nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture.
President Nana Addo Danquah Akuffo Addo of Ghana
What prompted this decision was not just
about people sleeping on empty stomachs for a night or two, or farmers
experiencing crop failure occasionally. It was about the on-going dynamics
driving them, and which have turned these seemingly part of ordinary life
incidences, into the “new normal” of life requiring urgent attention. The
changing climate, ravaging pests, pressure on land and water resources are
making life more and more tough for farmers. Then, is the challenge of meeting
the food needs of a rapidly rising population, with a growing middle class that
is no longer satisfied with basic traditional foods but is craving for more
sophisticated meals.
Now, the scenario is no longer two or three
people sleeping without food for one night, but thousands of people going
without food for many days and nights. Statistics compiled by the Washington DC-based
Earth Policy Institute say 27% of families in Nigeria experience foodless days.
While in India and Peru, 24% and 14% of families are experiencing foodless days
respectively.
But the problem is not just about going
foodless, it also has to do with the nutritional contents of the food eaten. The
lack of or insufficient nutrients in consumed food is known to be creating
severe health issues of malnutrition especially for children and women. Thus,
attaining food and nutritional security is a major 21st Century issue.
Ghana is said to be experiencing the double
burden of malnutrition, with high prevalence of under nutrition and
overweight/obesity. National statistics indicate that almost a fifth of the
population of Ghanaian children under five years are stunted – a condition in
which a child’s intellectual and physical growth are impaired. Again, more than
half of Ghanaian children between six to 59 months are anaemic. The prevalence
of overweight and obesity is much higher among Ghanaian women than men with
almost half of the population women suffering from the disease, compared to less
than one-fifth in men.
Therefore, the National Nutrition Policy
(NNP) has the goal to increase the coverage of high-impact nutrition-specific
interventions that will ensure optimal nutrition of Ghanaians throughout their
lifecycle. The mainly health sector driven interventions include the Essential
Nutrition Actions (ENA) integrated maternal and child care programme.
All around the world governments,
institutions, organisations and academia are rising to the challenge to arrest
this pandemic problem in line with SDG 2. It is focused on getting sustainable
solutions to end hunger in all of its forms by 2030 (just 11 years from now)
and to achieve food security. The aim is to ensure that everyone everywhere has
enough good quality food to lead a healthy life. And to attain this goal will
require better access to food and the widespread promotion of agriculture.
Some scientists and researchers are of the
view that countries could get long term maximum impacts solutions to the complex
food and nutrition challenges by tackling issues at the food systems level.
In
line with this thinking, experts working to improve food and nutritional
security in Ghana will dialogue with Dutch international multi-stakeholder
Research Groups of the Global Challenges Programme (GCP). The aim is to deepen knowledge
on food systems and develop recommendations on how to improve joint strategies
for future proof Ghanaian transitional food systems.
The theme for this meeting is: “Future Food
Systems for Ghanaian Food Security.” It will take place in Accra on Thursday,
January 17, 2019. It is being organised by the NWO-WOTRO Science for Global
Development and the Food and Business Knowledge Platform ((F&BKP), based in
The Netherlands.
Panelists will try to answer how Ghanaian
consumers can sustainably access enough variety of quality food in accordance
with their dietary and health needs. They will highlight practical examples for
improving quality sustainable inclusive food consumption among Ghanaians. The
panelists will additionally reflect on Ghana’s food and nutrition policy and explain
how systemic analysis have been translated and applied to interventions on food
systems transformation elsewhere.
Most importantly, the dialogue will help
create the needed awareness of the inter-linkages within the various components
of food systems from growing and harvesting to processing, transporting,
marketing, consumption and disposal.
It will establish that food systems
outcomes are interlinked with outcomes relating to climate, health and
socio-economics. Hence, activities in these areas could result in trade-offs
with one another. The dialogue will highlight the importance of careful
consideration in decision making, so that the resulting trade-offs will enhance
and not worsen the food and nutritional status of the people. Trades-offs is
the process of weighing the pros and cons of choices available in any given
situation and making a choice that will best meet a particular need, fully
aware of the consequences of foregoing the others.
There will also be group discussions on the
preferred food systems and how to get policy support for good practices.
As part of the preparatory activities
towards the Thursday afternoon event, members of the eight GCP Research teams,
who are halfway through their four-year research work are already in Accra, fine
tuning their midterm reports to share with participants and feed into the
dialogue. Some of their works, which are specifically looking at the Ghanaian
context include trying to understand drivers that shape the transitions in the
food system that are necessary to improve food availability, access,
utilization and stability.
One study for example, is examining the
policy environment, with its related institutions at the international,
regional, national and local levels. Additionally, the study is looking at the
structure of production, sharing and exchange of knowledge and information,
through skills, science and technology of various stakeholders.
Over 40 participants are expected at the
event. They include researchers from the GCP group, academia in Ghana, The
Netherlands and UK. Others are from the Council for Scientific and Industrial
Research (CSIR); Forestry Commission, Ghana Health Service; Agro-based
Enterprises; Farmer Groups; Solidaridad West Africa, an international NGO; and
the Food and Agricultural Organisation.
The Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria
(ERA/FoEN) has cautioned the Lagos government from going ahead with any deal
with the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation (IFC), which the group
says has the potential to mortgage the future of Lagos citizens and yield no
positive result.
Governor Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos State
The warning comes on the heels of the announcement on
Monday, January 7, 2019 by the IFC and Lagos State Government of a
memorandum of understanding (MoU) for the former to provide “advisory
services” for infrastructure development across sectors, including power,
transportation, municipal waste, health, education and energy efficiency.
IFC Nigeria Country Manager, Eme Essien, said that
the announcement “is only a first step in the building of a long-term
strategic partnership with the largest municipality in sub-Saharan Africa,”
claiming that its (IFC’s) Cities Initiative would improve living conditions,
expand and renew its infrastructure and help reinforce Lagos’s position as an
attractive investment destination.
ERA/FoEN is, however, wary of the deal and in a statement issued
in Lagos on Tuesday, January 15 and made available to EnviroNews raised issues with the timing and the fact that
contracts designed by or involving the IFC are most times fraught with booby
traps and operate only to serve private interests and maximise private profit.
Accprding to the Benin City-based outfit, a similar advisory
arrangement by the IFC in the water sector was primed to open the doors for a Public
Private Partnership (PPP) water privatisation scheme but was allegedly abandoned
in 2015 due to the resistance of Lagos residents led by the Our Water, Our
Right Coalition.
Deputy Executive Director of ERA/FoEN, Akinbode Oluwafemi,
said: “It is very disturbing that the Governor Akinwunmi Ambode administration
is taking Lagos on this questionable path which will have long term
implications even when his administration is ending in a few months’ time. We
anticipate the incoming government will review and roll back this deal.
“An agreement which virtually asphyxiates all the sectors in
the state will ultimately be extended to a crucial sector such as water going by the IFC description that the deal is ‘the first step’.
This is going to be a long windy road. It is unsurprising that this deal
between the World Bank and the Ambode administration was done without proper
consultation with the people of Lagos, and this is simply unacceptable.”
The new deal is coming less than a year after a delegation
of World Bank Executive Directors along with IFC Country Manager visited
Governor Ambode.
In the course of that visit, Ambode said that the various
budget support initiatives of the World Bank in the water sector in Lagos had
resulted in “stronger ties with the institution” and urged it to plough more
funds into water and other key sectors in the state.
Oluwafemi pointed out that the IFC conflict of interest in
the models it recommends to low- and middle-income countries like Nigeria are
well known, listing the water privatisation in Manila as a ready example of how
its advice led to two corporations running the city’s water system, yet the
arrangement was skewed deliberately to favour only one, which the IFC then
invested in.
According to ERA, this type of conflict of interest could
become a reality in Lagos, as one corporation being considered for the privatisation
of the Adiyan II waterworks – Metito – lists the IFC as a key shareholder. The
IFC was also invested in another multinational vying for control of Adiyan II –
Veolia – for several years.
“ERA/FoEN therefore raises issues with the fact that while
this new deal deliberately omits the mention of water, it is being implemented
under the IFC’s ‘Cities Initiative’, which has specifically mentioned its
focus on water, among other sectors.
“The IFC serves only private interests and will tie the
state and its people down with contracts that will enslave generations. We are
asking the incoming administration in Lagos to reject this deal and, instead,
channel Lagos’ huge human and financial resources into engendering the
transformation its people desire,” Oluwafemi said.
A respiratory physician, Dr Olufunke Adeyeye, says the
transportation system in Nigeria has increased fumes and pollution of the air.
Cars cause a lot of air pollution
According to the consultant, the respiratory problems of
Nigerians, including cough and difficulty in breathing, are due to pollution
from the exhausts of vehicles.
Adeyeye, who works at Lagos University Teaching Hospital,
Ikeja, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday, January 15, 2019 in
Lagos that large number of vehicles on the road was consequence of poor
transportation system in Nigeria.
She explained that the high number of vehicles plying
Nigerian roads implied that many hours would be spent in traffic, saying the
long stay in traffic has severe adverse effects to individual’s body.
According to her, the increase of these vehicles leads to
increase in the emissions of particles that are dangerous to the environment
and hazardous to health.
“With a lot of cars, we expect a lot of pollution from the
exhausts including carbon monoxide and sulphur dioxide.
“This means there is higher irritants in the atmosphere and
these things get into the lungs; carbon monoxide is capable of causing
poisoning and has high affinity with haemoglobin (a red protein responsible for
transporting oxygen in the blood).
“Sulphur dioxide is associated with worsening of asthma
symptoms and people with breathing difficulty find it more difficult to breathe
in such situations.
“When inhaled, these particles do not show any symptom, and
that is why people die from generator poisoning.
“People who have heart problem can actually get chest pain,
because the carbon monoxide has affinity with haemoglobin; so, oxygen will be
removed immediately which can cause sudden death or heart attack.
“All these also contribute to the global warming being
experienced in the world today,” she said.
The consultant said that individuals, as well as the
government, had the responsibility to control traffic situations on the road.
Adeyeye, who is also a staff member of the Lagos State
University College of Medicine, said: “There is no reason for everybody to
bring out their cars; people can decide to get to their various destinations by
public transport.
“Also, people can start to order for electric cars, but we
are challenged by inadequate power supply. So, we are incapacitated by the
choices we cannot just make.
“It requires a holistic change to bring about improvement.
The government should provide good roads that will encourage faster movement of
cars on the road.
“The roads should be tarred and watered to reduce the amount
of dust. Unfortunately, we cannot control the fumes,” she added.
President Muhammadu Buhari has called for more commitment
from the international community on redirecting water to the Lake Chad.
The climate variability impact on Lake Chad has also worsened the abundance and conservation status of biodiversity. Photo credit: UNEP
The president made the call when he received Letters of Credence from the High Commissioner of Canada to Nigeria, Philip Baker, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, on Monday, January 14, 2019.
According to him, the tragedy of the shrinking Lake Chad
will continue to fuel more illegal migrations, banditry and provide willing hands
for terrorism since majority of the people have lost their means of livelihood.
He said: “In 1920’s, an academic rightly predicted that
except there’s a redirection of water to Lake Chad, it will dry up.
“Now whenever I go for any global meeting or visit a
country, I will always draw the world’s attention to the adverse effect of
climate change on the lake, and the resulting negative effects.’’
The president urged the Canadian government to support the
on-going efforts to divert water from the Congo River to the lake.
“Canada has the capacity to help us. The lake is now less
than ten per cent of its normal size. A redirection will help our people from
getting into the Mediterranean Sea,’’ he added.
He noted Nigeria and Canada had good relations dating back
to the early 60’s when Nigeria gained independence, commending the country for
“its vast resource utilisation and solid political background.’’
In his remarks, the Canadian High Commissioner commended
Buhari for providing leadership in the country and championing the cause for
the replenishing of the Lake Chad Basin.
He noted that the Canadian Governor General, Julie Payette,
had presented a picture taken from space of the vanishing lake to the President
when she visited recently.
Baker said more than 11,000 Nigerians were studying in
Canada, with many residing in the country, assuring the President that majority
of the students return to build and invest their knowledge in the development
of Nigeria.
The Canadian High Commissioner said he would work towards
improving relations between both countries on migration, education,
entrepreneurship training, mining, renewable energy and Information Technology.
Also receiving Letters of Credence from the British High
Commissioner to Nigeria, Catriona Wendy Campbell Laing, President Buhari said
Nigeria remains grateful for the training support for the military in the North
Eastern part of the country since it started fighting Boko Haram.
The President congratulated Laing on her posting to the country,
pointing out that Nigeria appreciated its relations with the United Kingdom,
and would continue to pursue mutual interest in trade and economic issues.
In her remarks, the British High Commissioner said the
visits of the Prime Minister, Theresa May and Prince of Wales, Charles Philip
Arthur George, to Nigeria last year were to further consolidate relations, and
look forward to Nigeria’s support after Brexit.
Laing said Britain would continue to support Nigerian troops
in the North East and the people that were affected by the insurgency, assuring
President Buhari that more attention would be given to non-oil trade exchange
and strengthening of political ties.
President Buhari, who also received Letters of Credence from
the Ambassador of Argentina to Nigeria, Maria Del Carmen Squeff, said the vast
potentials in trade and agriculture for both countries could be further
explored.
In her response, the Ambassador of Argentina noted that both
countries must move beyond the level of signing agreements to ensuring that
issues of trade, sports, investments and agriculture get practical follow up
for mutual benefit.
Carmen Squeff said Argentina and Nigeria also have a lot to
share on movie productions, sports like football and Polo, and festivals.
The Antarctic ice sheets are under threat, a new research on
Tuesday, January 15, 2019 led by New Zealand and U.S. scientists who call for concrete
action to cut greenhouse gas emissions, revealed in a report.
Global warming is melting ice in Antarctica faster than ever before – about six times more per year now than 40 years ago, leading to increasingly high sea levels worldwide, scientists warned on January 14, 2019. Already, Antarctic melting has raised global sea levels more than half an inch (1.4 centimeters) between 1979 and 2017, said the report in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), a peer-reviewed US journal. Photo credit: Chris LARSEN / NASA / AFP
The study underscored just how sensitive the ice sheet is to
climate change, according to Richard Levy of GNS Science and Victoria
University of Wellington and Stephen Meyers of the University of
Wisconsin-Madison, who jointly led the research team.
“We’ve long known that the way the Earth moves in space
influences climate.
“If we fail to reach emissions targets, the Earth’s average
temperature will warm more than two degrees, sea ice will diminish.
“We will jump back to a world that hasn’t existed for
millions of years,’’ Levy added.
The research confirms a connection between those
astronomical changes and changes in the size and extent of the Antarctic ice
sheets.
“It highlights that parts of the ice sheets that sit in the
ocean are particularly sensitive to changes in the tilt of our planets axis,”
Levy said.
He said that it also raised serious questions about how
these changes would affect Earth in the future as carbon emissions rise.
“Antarctica’s vulnerable marine-based ice sheets will feel
the effect of our current relatively high tilt, and ocean warming at Antarctica’s
margins will be amplified,’’ he said.
The study’s co-author, Tim Naish of the Antarctic Research
Centre at Victoria University of Wellington, has also added that urgent action
is needed on cutting emissions, and it needs to happen on a national and global
level.
The Director of Bi-resources Department, Federal Ministry of
Science and Technology (FMST), Mr Abayomi Oguntunde, has canvassed for more
usage of renewable energy to boost power generation in the country.
Rooftop solar power panels
He made the call in an interview with News Agency of Nigeria
(NAN) in Abuja on Tuesday, January 15, 2019.
According to him, renewable energy development is the best
alternative to improved electricity generation in the country.
He said that such feat would improve efforts toward national
development.
He added: “Nigeria needs more energy to meet rising demands
due to population outburst, inevitable industrialisation, more agricultural
production and improved living standards.
“It is true that energy production and utilisation will
degrade the environment, but by using advanced technologies, techniques and
sources, economic and social development are also possible with less degradation.
“This is because energy production, energy consumption,
economic development and environmental pollution are directly related.”
Oguntade said that the place of energy and power in the
sustenance of economic activities, and their contributions to the standard of
living could not be over-emphasised in any nation.
The director said that the availability and consumption of
energy were major indices in the prosperity in any nation, noting, however, that
“challenges abound due to economic, social, technical and political barriers.”
He observed that the challenges had to be overcome if
renewable energy technologies were to be deployed to make meaningful impact on
the energy mix in the nation.
Far-reaching new rules applicable to packaging disposal
became operational from January 1, 2019 in Germany.
German Environment Minister, Svenja Schulze
The law states that significantly more packaging must be
recycled, even as new standards determine to what extent a packaging is recyclable. It
also ensures that all companies that use packaging pay for their collection and
recycling. The basis for this is created by the new packaging law.
An essential element of the law is the new central office
with the packaging register LUCID. It makes it transparent for every citizen to
what extent the manufacturers fulfill their product responsibility.
Since 1993 product responsibility for packaging has been in
force in Germany. This means that those who pack packaging with goods or
import to Germany must simultaneously finance the disposal. For packaging
that is generated by private consumers, this is done via license fees to the
so-called dual systems, which in turn organise the recycling. Many
companies did not follow this obligation. This also lacked the financial
incentive to dispense with unnecessary packaging.
Federal Environment Minister, Svenja Schulze, said: “We
want the economy to think comprehensively about which packaging is really
necessary and which materials are used in an environmentally friendly
way. This works especially well if environmentally harmful behaviour is
rewarded with more expensive and environmentally friendly behaviour. That’s
where the packaging law comes in. Less packaging, but this better
recyclable – that’s the goal. “
A major innovation of the Packaging Act is the foundation Zentrale Stelle Verpackungsregister. It
has been operating as an authority since the beginning of the year and aims to
improve transparency and control in the use and disposal of packaging.
Schulze added: “If you separate your waste in an
environmentally friendly way, you also have to be sure that the packaging is
actually recycled. This is the only way to build trust in our recycling
system. The Central Office makes a major contribution to this. “
The packaging register basically works like this: all
companies that use a packaging and fill it must register there, their company
name and their brand names are then published. They also must report the
amount of packaging that they fill and sell or trade in, which then goes into
the household as waste. The Central Unit then compares this information
with the information provided by the dual systems on the recycled packaging
quantities. This makes it publicly comprehensible which companies
financially meet their product responsibility and ensure that the targeted
recycling rates can be achieved.
“We started the register on a private law basis back in
August 2018 because we knew there were a lot of free riders. The high
number of inquiries from first-time buyers, who do not know what product
responsibility is, has confirmed to us how necessary this measure and also the
Packaging Act are, “reports Gunda Rachut, CEO of Zentrale Stelle Verpackungsregister, on the first implementation
steps of the foundation.
To date, 130,000 companies have registered in the packaging
register LUCID. “Thus, 70,000 companies are more registered than was
previously the case with the dual systems. That’s a good start,”says Rachut.
At the same time, the packaging register has developed new
standards. These include a “catalog of systemic packaging” and a
“guide to measuring the recyclability of a package”, which helps the
dual systems to consider environmental issues when calculating license fees.
Rachut stated: “The standards ensure a high level of
design from packaging to recycling. At the same time, they provide a reliable
legal framework for the debtors who are now much easier to identify their
obligations. Only in this way can we achieve the objectives of the
Packaging Act, with a mixture of transparency, sophisticated standards and
efficient control.”
