Estimation of plastic production, consumption, and waste generation in Nigeria: 2020 to 2050

Global utilization of different types of plastics has been increasing over the years due to its many useful properties. However, disposal of plastic waste has been a challenge all over the world and Nigeria is not an exception. As the most populous country in Africa, Nigeria is among the highest consumers of plastic products. Plastic waste generation was considered using three different scenarios that considered forecasted gross domestic productions up to 2050. The results indicated that plastic production rate in Nigeria is linear as against plastic consumption rate which is exponential. The result estimates from 2020 to 2050 revealed that plastic consumption in Nigeria doubles every 9 years which was validated using the doubling time equation. However, substantial reduction was achieved if enhanced plastic waste management technologies are adopted. Further reduction is achievable through reuse or recycle and implementation of hierarchical waste management strategies.