Mkpoikana Udoma
Port Harcourt — In a symbolic and action-oriented commemoration of World Environment Day 2025, the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project, HYPREP, on Thursday led a sensitization campaign and cleanup drive with secondary school students and fisherfolk at the Bomu Waterfront in Gokana Local Government Area of Rivers State, calling for urgent action to end plastic pollution in the Niger Delta.
The campaign, which featured members of the HYPREP Green Frontiers, a network of environmental clubs in secondary schools across Ogoniland, was anchored on this year’s global theme, “Ending Plastic Pollution.”
Addressing students, community leaders, and fisherfolk, HYPREP Project Coordinator, Prof. Nenibarini Zabbey, emphasized that plastic waste, particularly from Nigeria’s growing “sachet economy,” poses a dangerous threat to mangrove ecosystems, aquatic life, and local livelihoods.
“Every day, over 60 million water sachets are discarded across Nigeria. Many of these find their way into our rivers and creeks, where they choke marine life and poison the food chain. Today is not just a day of awareness, it is a day of citizen action. We are cleaning our creeks and changing mindsets.”
Zabbey announced key interventions by HYPREP, including “replacing plastic nursery bags with growcoons in mangrove restoration; banning single-use plastics at all HYPREP offices and project sites; and empowering students through environmental clubs to lead advocacy and scientific cleanup efforts in their communities.”
He added, “We are extending these interventions to the heart of our project sites because plastic pollution is not just a global issue, it’s a local crisis. And the solution must be local too,” he added.
Zabbey emphasized that HYPREP’s initiative is grounded in the belief that nature-based solutions and local participation are vital to tackling pollution in the Niger Delta.
Last year, the Green Frontiers led a community cleanup in the Bomu Creeks, removing bags of plastic waste from the mangrove fringe, a model HYPREP says it will replicate in more coastal communities.
Beyond cleanups, the Project is advocating for stronger enforcement of environmental laws, urging government, industry players, and civil society to “develop policies, ensure compliance, and halt harmful practices.”
“We cannot remediate oil spills while turning a blind eye to plastic waste. Both are environmental hazards. Both demand urgent, coordinated action,” Prof. Zabbey said.
In a major show of support, His Royal Highness Benedict Vurasi-Tenalo, Paramount Ruler of Bomu Community, pledged to convene a town hall meeting to rally his community around the anti-plastic campaign.
“I will call a town hall meeting to sensitize my people on the dangers of single-use plastics and the benefits of ending plastic pollution. Our creeks are our kitchens. We cannot afford to poison them.”
With the Ogoni Cleanup Project widely regarded as one of the largest environmental remediation efforts in the world, HYPREP’s World Environment Day actions reinforce its evolving scope, from cleaning oil-contaminated soil and water to addressing modern environmental challenges like plastic pollution.
