Rep. Terseer Ugbor, Deputy Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Environment, has been conferred with the 2025 Industry Enabler Award by the Recyclers Association of Nigeria (RAN), in recognition of his legislative push for a circular economy framework in Nigeria.
The award was presented at the 2026 Annual Recyclers Conference and Awards (ARC26), held at the MUSON Centre in Lagos.
Rep. Ugbor confirmed the honour in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Saturday.
RAN cited his personal leadership and commitment to policies that support recycling sector growth, including waste management initiatives such as waste battery receptacle programmes designed to handle hazardous material safely.
The centrepiece of his legislative agenda is a proposed Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) bill, which would require businesses to take responsibility for their products through their full lifecycle, from manufacture to disposal.
For the agriculture sector, EPR carries direct implications: fertiliser bags, agro-chemical containers, and pesticide packaging currently constitute a significant share of rural waste, with most ending up burned or buried on farmland with no formal recovery system.
“The recognition highlights the increasing importance of leadership, collaboration, and innovation in driving Nigeria’s transition towards a circular economy and a cleaner environment,” Rep. Ugbor noted.
He pledged to deepen his work on environmental legislation.
Nigeria generates an estimated 32 million tonnes of solid waste annually, according to the Federal Ministry of Environment, with agricultural packaging waste representing a growing and largely untracked share.
EPR frameworks in comparable economies have shifted the cost of that waste from communities to manufacturers, creating incentives for recyclable packaging design upstream.
Whether Rep. Ugbor’s proposed bill reaches the floor for debate, and in what form, will determine whether the legislative attention translates into enforceable policy.
Source: News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), May 2, 2026.
