Mining, Quarrying Companies Must Adopt Zero-Waste Policies – FG

The federal government has charged mining and quarrying companies to adopt zero-waste policies in their operations for a sustainable environment.

The Minister of Environment, Mallam Balarabe Abbas Lawal said there must be balanced development arising from mining and quarrying activities and a safe environment.

The Minister stated this while presenting a Keynote address at the Workshop on Mainstreaming Circular Economy in Land Degradation Sectors of Construction, Mining and Quarrying, organized by the National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA) in collaboration with the European Union, on Thursday, in Abuja.

Speaking on “Circular Economy Intended to Balance Development and Environmental Sustainability”, Lawal noted that Circular Economy provides the framework for the balance between development and environmental sustainability.

He explained that while the mining and quarrying sectors were vital to Nigeria’s economic development, they are implicated in land degradation, as “unregulated mining pits, exhausted quarry sites, deforestation, and polluted environments are clear signs of the imbalance between development and environmental sustainability.”

He regretted the effects of unregulated mining and quarrying activities on communities, the ecosystem and the entire country’s landscape.

“Our landscapes, ecosystems and communities bear the brunt of unchecked extraction, resource depletion and unsustainable development due to construction, mining and quarrying,” NESREA’s statement quoted him.

To stem the tide, the Minister stressed the need for the construction industry to adopt circular economy strategies to reduce its environmental footprint, insisting “We must prioritize land rehabilitation in mining and quarrying operations. Mining and quarrying companies must adopt zero-waste policies, ensuring that mining by-products, such as tailings and waste rocks are repurposed for other industrial uses or construction projects.”

In his welcome address, the Director General of NESREA, Dr. Innocent Barikor, noted that the “circular economy offers a transformative framework to ensure resource conservation and regeneration, waste-to-resource systems, and sustainable urbanization”.

He called for the collaboration of all stakeholders to ensure the adoption and promotion of sustainable practices to speed up “the restoration of our land, regeneration of our ecosystems, and protection of our environment for future generations”.

Chairman of the Senate Committee on Environment, Senator Akintude Yunus, and the Deputy Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Environment, Hon. Terseer Ugbor pledged the support of the National Assembly towards providing the necessary legislative backing for environmental protection in the country.