Brand audit flags global beverage majors in Nigeria’s plastic waste stream

NIGERIA – A multi-city brand audit has identified multinational beverage companies and single-use plastic producers as leading contributors to Nigeria’s plastic packaging pollution, intensifying calls for production cuts, stronger regulation and enforceable extended producer responsibility (EPR) schemes.

The audit, conducted across eight cities by the Break Free From Plastic (BFFP) and the Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives (GAIA), named major beverage and food brands including Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, Nestlé, Rite Foods and CWAY Group, alongside numerous local table-water producers, as significant sources of branded plastic waste.

According to the findings, sachet packaging dominates Nigeria’s plastic waste stream, followed by plastic bottles and then plastic carrier bags.

Sachets, widely used for water and low-cost consumer goods, remain particularly challenging due to limited recyclability and collection infrastructure.

Favour Onodjohwo, program officer at the Green Knowledge Foundation, said the data from six years of brand audits indicates the crisis is rooted in production rather than post-consumer handling.

“We need to reduce plastic production and shift responsibility to producers, rather than focusing solely on waste management,” she noted, calling for corporate transition toward reuse and refill systems or recyclable, toxic-free alternatives with defined phase-out timelines for non-recyclable plastics.

Policy framework and enforcement gaps

Nigeria has introduced national-level policy measures to address the issue. Joshua Dazi, program development manager at the Nigerian Conservation Foundation (NCF), highlighted the National Policy on Plastic Waste Management (NPPWM), updated by the Federal Ministry of Environment.

Although not yet enacted as a full Act of the National Assembly, the NPPWM establishes a federal framework for plastics regulation, enabling restrictions on single-use plastics, levies, phased bans and enforcement of EPR obligations for producers and importers.

The federal government has already implemented a ban on single-use plastics within Ministries, Departments and Agencies.

However, BFFP and GAIA report that enforcement remains uneven and slow across states.

Benson Dotun Fasanya, executive director at the Centre for Earth Works, urged mandatory measures, including robust EPR schemes and integration of informal waste pickers.

He also pointed to the ongoing negotiations toward a UN Global Plastics Treaty as a critical opportunity for Nigeria to support binding production-reduction targets aligned with the 1.5°C climate goal.

Push for plastic bag levies

With plastic bags ranking third in the audit’s waste categories, the NCF is advocating for a mandatory, legally ring-fenced plastic bag levy.

The group proposes channeling proceeds into a national climate or environmental fund to finance recycling infrastructure, circular economy initiatives and community-level waste management projects.

As scrutiny intensifies, the audit underscores mounting pressure on multinational and local producers alike to align packaging strategies with Nigeria’s evolving regulatory landscape and circular economy ambitions.

Subscribe to our email newsletters that provide busy executives like you with the latest news insights and trends from Africa and the World. SUBSCRIBE HERE