French Embassy Initiates Plastic Waste Management Project

The French Embassy, through its Cooperation and Cultural Department, launched a plastic waste management project on Thursday under the French Embassy Fund. The €753,000 project involves 13 Nigerian universities and focuses on developing innovative and adaptive solutions to reduce plastic waste and enhance sustainable practices on campuses.

Participating universities include Alex Ekwueme Federal University, Bayero University Kano, Nile University of Nigeria, Covenant University, and Babcock University. Others are the University of Jos, Obafemi Awolowo University, University of Ibadan, University of Lagos, Yaba College of Technology, University of Calabar, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, and University of Delta.

At the inaugural steering committee meeting in Abuja, the acting French Ambassador to Nigeria, Jean-Francois Hasperue, emphasized the role of universities in shaping the future and highlighted the project’s importance in promoting sustainability. He noted the necessity of fulfilling the Paris Agreement commitments and collaborating with countries worldwide to combat climate change.

Hasperue explained, “We chose African countries because we believe fighting climate change requires solidarity between economically advanced and less advanced countries. Through the Paris Pact for People and Planets, we have committed up to $1 billion, with France contributing around $6 billion, to fund projects that address poverty, climate change, pollution, and biodiversity loss.”

Science and Higher Education Attaché Sebastien Bede underscored the project’s aim to reduce plastic waste on Nigerian campuses and inspire students to become environmental stewards. “Plastic waste is a pressing global issue,” he said. “This project aims to reduce the plastic footprint on campuses and inspire a new generation to champion a plastic-free world.”

The Vice-Chancellor of the University of Lagos, Prof. Folasade Ogunsola, emphasized that the project’s value extends beyond financial aspects. “What drives older generations might not drive young people, so we need to make waste collection and environmental consciousness fashionable for them. We’ve already started this at the University of Lagos, and although not every student participates, we generate significant revenue from waste recycling, which is reinvested into the university.”

The French government’s FEF-funded project is part of a global effort to combat plastic pollution and is set to be fully implemented by December 2025.