EfD’s collaborative research program Sustainable Consumption and Production (SCOPE) has launched a major research initiative to address policy gaps, data limitations, enforcement challenges, and the role of the informal sector in managing electronic and textile waste in Nigeria.
The research project, titled E-Waste and Textile Waste Challenges in the Global South: Laying the Groundwork for an Evidence-Based, Policy-Relevant Research Agenda, is a multi-country initiative involving Nigeria, Mexico, India, Ghana, and Kenya
The Nigerian component of the project commenced with a two-day stakeholder workshop on e-waste and textile waste, held on December 10-11, 2025, in Lagos. The participants in the workshop included representatives from the Federal Ministry of Environment, the Lagos State Ministry of Environment, waste pickers associations, recyclers associations, academia, and the textile manufacturers' association.
Sounding Boards will serve as advisory platforms
One of the highlights of the workshop was participants’ consent to form a Nigerian E-waste Sounding Board and a Textile Waste Sounding Board.
The Sounding Boards will serve as advisory platforms that provide strategic guidance on policy-relevant research, support the translation of research into policy and practice, and strengthen coordination across government, private sector, academia, and the informal economy in the management of e-waste and textile waste.
With the secretariat at EfD Nigeria, the Sounding Boards are expected to produce an annual Nigeria e-waste policy evidence report, policy briefs, and promote health and environmental safeguards among e-waste and textile waste managers in the formal and informal sectors.
Government committed to produce a national policy on e-waste and textile waste
“The Government of Nigeria is deeply committed to its obligations under the Basel Convention on issues of managing hazardous and other wastes in an environmentally sound manner, therefore I consider this workshop very strategic”, said Dr Livinus Nnamdi Nwankwo, the representative of Nigeria’s Minister for Environment.
Livinus Nnamdi Nwankwo noted that although Nigeria has a policy on solid waste management, the country lacks a specific framework for managing e-waste and textile waste.
“This workshop is coming at an auspicious time when there is a concerted effort to produce a National Policy on e-waste management and also a National Policy on waste Off-Grid Renewable Energy Equipment (OGREE) in Nigeria,” Livinus Nnamdi Nwankwo said.
“The workshop was not merely an academic exercise; it gave birth to a policy-shaping platform with the potential to influence national strategies on circular economy, extended producer responsibility, green jobs, and environmental protection,” said Prof. Mike Onyia, the Deputy Vice-Chancellor, of the Administration at the University of Nigeria.
The project is rooted in finding local solutions
Prof. Nnaemeka Chukwuone, the Director of EfD Nigeria, stated that although the research project has an international scope, the initiative is grounded in finding local solutions to address Nigeria’s specific challenges in managing e-waste and textile waste.
He noted that the formation of the Sounding Boards will facilitate co-creation, where producers, recyclers, regulators, waste pickers, and researchers can jointly examine evidence, evaluate ongoing research, and develop implementable solutions that will guide national policy.