Reactions as Government Bans Takeaways “Styrofoam”

Ogbodo Ozioma Favour

The ban on Styrofoam popularly called “Takeaways” by Nigeria’s Federal Government, has raised mixed reactions and occasioned controversy.

The government’s action is anchored on the danger of the product to the citizens’ health.

It cited the rising rate of cancer, among others as the reason for the ban.

However, those who opposed the ban argue that the government action failed to take into consideration the economic implications of the Styrofoam ban.

They are tagged Take Always in Nigeria because they are widely used for food packaging.

Styrofoam is a very light plastic substance, used especially to make containers.

In cities like Abuja, Lagos, Kano, Kaduna, Ibadan and Enugu takeaways are common sight because food vendors use them a lot. So, the ban will affect users of the product.

Speaking on the ban on Styrofoam, an industry player, a polystyrene company at Idu Abuja, representative Mr. Hamizat lamented and accused the government of insensitivity. Hamizat said the ban was placed “without sensitizing the people, organizing an awareness campaign”.

“I sell polystyrene boxes for packaging of agriculture products for export.

I also sell polystyrene sheets which are useful in construction to regulate heat and the ban does not affect me but what about others?”

“The Government still needs to sensitize the public and create alternatives before initiating a ban and I believe all Styrofoam is recyclable when gathered properly. After all, years ago no one knew bottled water could be recycled. They need to mitigate the situation

“I have been to other countries, that still use Styrofoam’s but it does not end as clusters in the drainages so the Government needs to first and foremost mitigate and understand the economic implications first.”

A new public opinion poll conducted by NOIPolls has revealed that 62 per cent of adult Nigerians nationwide disclosed that they do not know the causes of cancer disease. However, 14 per cent attributed the cause to eating canned food, while 7 per cent said it is caused by poor hygiene among other causes mentioned.

National Cancer Control Plan (2018–2022), cancer is responsible for 72,000 deaths in Nigeria every year, with an estimated 102,000 new cases of cancer annually.

According to World Health Organization (WHO) statistics, cancer is the leading cause of death all over the world resulting in nearly 10 million deaths in 2020, or nearly one in six deaths.

Cancer is a general term for a large cluster of ailments that can affect any part of the human body. Other similar terms used are malignant tumors and neoplasms.