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Global Plastic Pollution and the Nigerian Dimensions
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This review examines global plastic pollution trends with a focus on Nigeria, covering plastic production history, environmental distribution, ecological effects, and policy challenges in the West African context. The authors document how weak waste management infrastructure and high plastic consumption growth rates make Nigeria particularly vulnerable to microplastic pollution in rivers, coastlines, and food chains.
Plastic pollution has surged from 1.5 million tons produced in the 1950s to 335 million tons in 2016, with 9–23 million metric tons entering aquatic systems annually. This review examines plastic pollution’s characteristics—diversity, persistence, and combined effects with other contaminants—and its geophysical and biological impacts globally, complemented by a case study on Nigeria. Plastics disrupt carbon and nutrient cycles and threaten over 900 marine species via ingestion and entanglement. In Nigeria, sachet water and poor waste management contribute 0.13–0.34 million tons to oceans yearly, ranking it ninth globally, undermining Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) like health (SDG 3), water quality (SDG 6), and marine life (SDG 14). Solutions include legislation, education, and improved infrastructure, tailored to Nigeria’s context. This paper fills gaps by addressing macro- and nanoplastics, terrestrial systems, and Nigeria’s unique challenges, urging region-specific strategies for this poorly reversible pollutant.
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Plastic Pollution in the Environment in Nigeria: A Rapid Systematic Review of the Sources, Distribution, Research Gaps and Policy Needs
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This systematic review examines plastic pollution across Nigeria's environment, including water, soil, air, and food. The research finds that plastic contamination is widespread but under-studied in African countries, with significant gaps in data and policy. Understanding plastic pollution in developing nations is critical because these regions often lack the waste management infrastructure to prevent microplastic contamination of food and water.
Microplastics in the Nigerian Environment- A review
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This review summarizes microplastic contamination in Nigeria, covering sources, distribution in the environment, and potential impacts on ecosystems and human health. The study highlights that microplastics are now detectable throughout Nigerian environments and calls for greater research attention and policy action in the West African context.
Plastic Pollution and Framework Towards Sustainable Plastic Waste Management in Nigeria: Case Study
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Nigeria faces a growing plastic pollution crisis driven by the rapid expansion of companies producing plastic bottles and sachet water packaging. This paper examines the scale of the problem and proposes a framework for more sustainable plastic waste management, drawing on case studies of existing challenges and potential interventions. While focused on policy and waste management rather than microplastics specifically, reducing plastic waste at source directly limits the amount that fragments into environmental microplastics.
The importance of microplastics pollution studies in water and soil of Nigeria ecosystems
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This review highlights the lack of microplastic pollution research in Nigeria, despite the country's growing plastic production and consumption. The author calls for more local studies to generate data needed for science-based policy on plastic waste management in African ecosystems.
Plastic Pollution: a Nigerian Case Study
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This review paper examines how Nigeria's growing plastic waste problem, driven by poor waste collection systems and heavy reliance on single-use plastic bags, is polluting water sources with tiny plastic fragments called microplastics, which can end up in the food and water people consume. This matters because these plastics don't just harm wildlife and ecosystems; they can also make their way into our bodies, and scientists still don't fully understand the health risks. The researchers call for better waste management, stronger regulations, and new cleanup methods (like using activated carbon to filter out plastics) to tackle this growing problem before it gets worse.
Research digests by email
When a large batch of papers lands in the Atlas, we read through it and send a short write-up of what stood out.