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Claim: “Plastic makes about 20% of our waste,” Monrovia City Corporation’s head claims.
Verdict: False! The most recent data from the World Bank shows that plastic accounts for 14% of Liberia’s waste.
Full Text
It is no news that Liberia struggles with improper waste disposal. A large portion of the waste generated every day is poorly disposed of. It is either buried, burned, or uncontrollably scattered around the country.
The Mayor of the City of Monrovia made his debut at the regular press briefing of the Ministry of Information, Cultural Affairs, and Tourism (MICAT) on Feb. 4, 2025. He said the corporation needs investments to sort out the generated waste.
In the words of John Siafa, “Plastic makes about 20% of our waste in Liberia.”
He said facing the waste problem in the city is not an event, but a process.
He made the claim during the 45:27 to 45:32 of the briefing.
DUBAWA verified Mayor Siafa’s claim as part of DUBAWA’s efforts to fight information disorder.
Verification
DUBAWA first contacted the Communication Director of the Monrovia City Corporation (MCC), seeking the source of Siafa’s claim.
In response, Varney Diggs said the city mayor’s claim was sourced from the World Bank 2023 report.
“The mayor’s reliance is based on the World Bank report that came out 2023, which indicated that 14 per cent of the waste composition in Liberia comprise of plastics.”
However, DUBAWA’s checks of the World Bank 2023 data on Liberia’s national overview of plastics’ life cycle, governance, and initiative showed that “plastic waste accounts for about 14 per cent” of Liberia’s waste generation.
When asked why Mayor Siafa stated 20% when the report clearly said 14%, Diggs said his boss was assuming that based on the time interval from 2023 to now, the numbers may have surged to 20%.
Conclusion
The head of the Monrovia City Corporation’s claim that plastic makes up about 20% of Liberia’s waste is inaccurate.
